The Miko's Shrine
by landofthekwt
Summary: Drabbles about Kikyo and Kikyou and Inuyasha Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha. He belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.I do not profit from these fanfictions
1. A Moment of Weakness

Title:A Moment of Weakness

Author landofthekwt

Genre:Introspective

Pairing:None

Universe:Canon

Warning:Spoiler for Chapter 407-408 which I took some liberties with.

Summary: Kikyou contemplates her duty to the Jewel and Kohaku's life and comes to a decision.

Quote: "We deceive ourselves when we fancy that only weakness needs support. Strength needs more." - Madame Swetchime (Inuyasha Quotes Week 5)

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi and various corporations do. I make no money from this fanfiction.

Kikyou stared down at the scene below her. Sesshoumaru had already been engulfed in Mouryoumaru's diamond arm. Inuyasha who had rushed to Sesshoumaru's defense was clearly losing. He would be dead in a matter of moments because Mouryoumaru's youkai was too much for his dragon-scale Tetsusaiga. She looked over at Kohaku. The boy wanted to sacrifice himself to atone for his sins. He was the perfect weapon to purify the jewel and kill Naraku by allowing himself and his shard to taken in Naraku.

She had been trained to her duty since she was a child. The Jewel had come to her for purification and protection. She had died to prevent the jewel from falling into evil hands. Since she had been resurrected she had resumed her role as Guardian of the Jewel.

As Guardian of the Jewel, her duty had been protect the jewel at all costs. She knew that she must cast Naraku and the Jewel into Hell before her counterfeit body wore out. All that kept her going was her duty

This duty included sacrificing herself and others if it would achieve the end of destroying the jewel. After absorbing part of Midoriko's soul , she had been guided by Midoriko's will Midoriko's voice screamed in her ear. Sacrifice them, sacrifice them all in order to purify the jewel and Naraku. This is your duty, this is my will, carry them out.

Kikyou stared again at Kohaku. If the boy were allowed to live , she could heal him.. IfInuyasha were to kill Mouryoumaru, Kohaku would not have to die..

Her indecision ended. "Slay Mouryoumaru, Inuyasha," she screamed. Her purification arrow slammed into Mouryoumaru ,dissipating his youkai and allowed Inuyasha to resume his attack with dragon scale Tetsusaiga .

In her moment of hesitation she had abandoned her duty to the Purification of the Jewel and to Midoriko, all for the life of small boy. Maybe she could not save herself since she was already dead, but she would try to save Kohaku if she could. He did not deserve to suffer her fate.


	2. Dust in the Wind

Title: Dust in the Wind

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyo

Universe: Canon

Genre: Introspective/Angst/Songfic

Warning: Character Death, spoiler for Chapter 465 of the manga

Summary: Inuyasha contemplates the meaning of Kikyo's death to him.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha et al belong to RT and the corporate lackeys. "Dust in the Wind" lyrics belongs to its rightful owner and I make claim to ownership of said lyrics.

_Dust in the wind. All we are is dust in the Wind._

"Do not cry for me. I shall always watch over you"

With those words, Kikyo's body began to dissolve. The body that he held so briefly. The lips that he had kissed just moments before. The mouth that smiled up at him for the very first time. The eyes that shown with love for him. They all were gone.

_I close my eyes only for a moment and that moments gone._

As Kikyo dissolved the souls trapped in her body constructed of ash and graveyard soil. began to escape in a festival of lights..Her soul collectors rushed to capture the escaping souls creating a column of swirling dust, lights and demons.

_All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity_

All that was Kikyo, all of the dreams that he shared with Kikyo, all his desire to complete the jewel and his desire to obtain revenge for Kikyo seemed to dissolve with her.

_Dust in the wind. All we are is dust in wind._

He could feel the warmth of Kikyo's soul as soul collector's wrapped around.him. He could smell the ash and graveyard soil as they were caught in the updraft. But they were not Kikyo. Her scent and her presence were gone.

_Same old song, just a drop of water in endless sea._

He stared at the lights as they and soul collectors wrapped themselves around his friends on the hillside. He could hear their voices. They were all sorry now that she was gone. A day ago they had hated her. But they had never known her soul. Even Kagome who had shared her soul had hated and envied her .But she was gone.

_All we do crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see._

Everything he had ever wanted . The jewel, Power Acceptance, Love, Friends. Escape from Loneliness Family were now irrelevant. Nothing mattered to him anymore in that moment.

_Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind._

He stared into the heavens. It seemed like the soul collectors were carrying her soul to the stars. Was this there last meeting? Would they meet again some day? When they finally disappeared, he sighed.

_Don't hang on, nothing last forever, but the earth and sky._

He felt numb. It felt as if the soul collectors had taken his soul in their rush to the heavens. Was there something left for him in this world? At that moment, he could not think of a single thing that tied. him to this world. For a moment, he wished the soul collectors had taken him with them, so he would not have to face the agony and emptiness of going on without Kikyo.

_It slips away, all your money won't another minute buy._

All the promises he had made to protect Kikyo had been ineffective. When Naraku had wanted to kill Kikyo, he had killed Kikyo despite all of his efforts. His words, his strength, his power, his desire to save Kikyo from her fate were all irrelevant. Kikyo was gone and he would have to deal with it.

_Dust in wind., all we are is dust in the wind._

.He could sense Kagome approaching him. She halted as he began to speak. "Kikyo said not to mourn for her. She said she would always watch over us."

_Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind._


	3. Light A Candle For St Kikyou

Title: Light a Candle for St.Kikyo

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: K+

Genre: Introspective/Romantic/Angst

Pairing Inuyasha/Kikyo:

Universe: Canon

Warning :minor spoiler for Chapter 530;Chapter 464-465 , Chapter 377 and Chapter 529 page 17 and anime,"The Tragic Love Song of Destiny" Chapter 78 and Chapter176.

Summary: Inuyasha thanks Kikyo for her role in reviving Kohaku

kikyo Japanese bellflower or balloon flower The meaning of "kikyo" is unchanging love.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and various corporations. I make no money from this fanfication

Inuyasha walked away from the well. Kagome had just left for the future. She had made him promise not to come for her. He knew that the graduation was important to her. Although a part of him wanted her to remain safe in the future, another part of him craved her return desperately and feared that the allure of home, friends and family would take her away from him forever.

He shook himself from his reverie. There would time for that later. He had one important task to perform before preparing for the final battle with Naraku.

Where were those flowers? He thought he had seen the bellflowers in his woods by Goshinboku. How appropriate that they should grow there. He ran from the village to the tree to gather them.

Stopping in Kaede's hut upon his return, Kaede helped him prepare for what lay ahead. She assembled the offerings and incense for him. Kagome had sometime ago given him a lighter to start campfires He would use it to light the incense.

Kaede asked "Do you want me to go with you". He shook his head."This matter is between Kikyo and I." "At least let me instruct in the proper ceremony of the prayers so that you do not offend the Kami.",Kaede offered. He gratefully accepted her offer and watched her closely.

He had not prayed since his mother died and then only in the small family shrine in their house. Hanyous were not allowed within public shrines since they were considered to be impure. She had him remove his robe of the fire rat and Tetsusaiga both of which had demonic auras.. She found a white haorii which was more appropriate for the ceremony .and assisted him in donning it.

" You must be purified" she said. "You are not going to turn me human" said the hanyou.

"No, I mean you must go through the ritual washing to purify yourself".Kaede answered. .

She took him to the pool by the waterfall where Kikyo had so often purified herself.

She instructed him in the ritual of purification. Who know how the kami would receive a hanyou. Upon leaving the returning from the pool he headed straight through the Torii gate and up steep set of stairs to the shrine. He laid the offerings and flowers at the base of the shrine. He placed the incense and lit it with Kagome's lighter The smell of the incense offended his nose so badly that he had to cover it with the sleeve of the haori.

He closed his eyes, clapped his hands together and bowed. The words did not come to him immediately, but he knew what he wanted to say.

"Kikyo, I wanted to thank you for giving your light and the opportunity to destroy Naraku to save Kohaku's life. I knew that you were not the kind of woman who could exchange the life of Kohaku in order to complete the Shikon no Tama".

" Kikyo, you saved Kohaku's life when I failed to protect your light and Kohaku's shard."

I have failed you so much in past.

I would have become human for you, but I did not trust you. As a result, my actions led to your death.

I would have gone to hell for you if you had asked me, but you never did

I would have protected you, but you would not let me and Naraku was able to wound you and eventually kill you because I was to protect you.

Your love for me was unchanging, but I gave my heart to another

We were bound together in death, but another unbound me

Because you followed after me in death, I owed you my life. But here I am the one alive, while you are dead again because I failed to protect you

Even though I told you that I did not believe that you could exchange the live of Kohaku in order to complete the Shikon No Tama, I still tried to strengthen my sword so that I could kill Naraku before you sacrificed Kohaku to complete the Shikon no Tama

I sorry that in the end, I was unable to save you and you were only able to have one moment of happiness in your life as an ordinary woman. I am glad that Kagome was able to save your soul in the end.

I am going now into the final battle with Naraku. I must not fail you as I have so many times before. Although you no longer need revenge against Naraku to bring you peace, I will exact it against him for all that he has made you suffer. I do not know if I will survive the battle, but I will endeavor to see Naraku and the jewel are cast into hell. I will complete your duty since you cannot..

I will always love you. We will meet again someday".

With those words Inuyasha turned away from the shrine, he swore he could hear the last words of Kikyo whispering in his ear."Do not cry for me. I will always watch over you".


	4. The Green Eyed Monster

Title: The Green Eyed Monster

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: K+

Genre: Drama

Universe: Canon

Word Count:212

Warning: Spoiler for my interpretation of Chapter 173. Originally done for Issekiwa,Green Theme.

Summary: Kikyou turns the tables on her watchers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and various corporations.

By telling Inuyasha that Onigumo's heart beat inside of Naraku and carried with it his feelings of love for her, Kikyou unleashed the green eyed monster of jealousy. in Inuyasha's heart. He held her with protestations that he alone could protect her from Naraku.

She did not need or want Inuyasha's help. Just as Inuyasha's affection for her caused him to want to protect her, so Onigumo's lust for her could be used as a sword and shield against Naraku..

Summarily dismissing Inuyasha, Kikyou suddenly felt that she was being watched by Kagome and Naraku. How dare they spy on her.

As she began to sense the feelings of the watchers, an evil smile crept over her face. Neither of Kagome or Naraku could stand to see her in Inuyasha's arms. She would teach them a lesson.

She told Inuyasha how grateful she was that he had saved her from Naraku's monster. Inuyasha cradled her in his arms. Take that bitch! Now you know I feel. .

She took one last shot at Naraku. She whispered to Inuyasha."I won't let any other than you touch a hair of my head." Take that Naraku. How dare you try to kill me .

As she walked away in triumph, Inuyasha stared in rapture, Kagome slumped against the tree and Naraku angrily ordered Kanna to close her mirror. Gotcha, she smirked.


	5. An Ordinary Woman

Title: An Ordinary Woman

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Introspective

Rating: K+

Word Count:234

Universe: Canon

Pairing: Inuuyasha/Kikyou

Warning: Character Death Spoiler for the Mount Azusa arc and Chapter 465. Written for Issekiwa Plain Theme

Summary: Kikyo realizes that she has become an ordinary woman

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. He belongs to Rumiko Takahasi and the various corporations which have rights to him

She had been a woman in chains. The chains had been forged by her link by link. It was chains that made her what she was and chains which prevented her from being an ordinary woman.

Now the chains were breaking.

Kagome had broken the chains of jealousy and hate when Kagome saved Kikyou's soul by retrieving the bow from Mount Azusa. With the bow she had transferred the chain of duty to Kagome.

The chains of purity, power and vengeance were broken when Kikyou used the last of her own power and purity to fire the arrow into Naraku. She no longer needed to fight anymore. She no longer needed vengeance against Naraku. She no longer needed her pride anymore. She had nothing to prove anymore to anyone. That chain dissolved as Inuyasha carried her away.

She had thought that she was still bound by the chain called Inuyasha. As she looked closer, she realized it was not a chain at all. It was a lifeline that she never wanted to break.

As she listened to Inuyasha tell her that he loved her, felt his tears upon her face and reveled in the touch of his lips on hers; she realized that for the first time in her life she was happy.

She had become an ordinary woman. No longer was she bound by the chains that had bound her as a miko since childhood. In her moment of joy, she realized that her body would soon dissolve. But that one moment of happiness was enough for her.


	6. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Title: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Angst/Introspective

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyou both dead

Word Count:249

Universe: Canon

Warning:None Inuyasha Fanfic Contest Week 140, Sleep Theme

Summary: Kaede is left alone after Inuyasha and Kikyou are killed and wonder what she will do

now. (Knittingknots suggested that Kaede was in love with Inuyasha in After the End. I think

she is righ)

I stand in front of my sister's shrine. I am numb.

This morning she was alive, now she is dead.

You were my teacher, you were my sister

You were like a mother to me, You were my friend

You were so full of hope when you left

When you returned, you had resigned yourself to death.

When you left I thought you would return a bride.

When you returned, your body was cremated with the jewel

What happened?

The men say that Inuyasha murdered you

The men say that Inuyasha burned the village and stole the jewel

Did he kill you for such a trinket?

I wish I could tell you how much I need you.

But you have deserted me for the peace of death

and I will have no peace.

I stand in front of Inuyasha. I cry

You were my hero. You were the one loved.

You were to be the father I never had.

You were to be my sister's husband

You were to be the one to make us happy

Why did you betray her?

Why did you betray me?

Was it worth to kill her?

Was it worth to steal the jewel?

Was it worth to destroy our chance for happiness?

Were we not enough for you?

You lie so peacefully now with my sister's arrow through your heart.

I wish I could awaken you to tell you how much I need you.

But you have deserted me now for the peace of sleep

and I will have no peace.


	7. Kikyou's Wish

Title: Kikyou's Wish

Author :landofthekwt

Rating:G

Genre: Introspective

Universe: Canon

Word Count:297

Warning: Spoiler for Chapter 512 At First Tweak, Wishes Drabble

Summary: Inuyasha tells Kagome the story of Kikyo's wish to end the fighting over the jewel

Inuyasha sat on Kagome's bed staring at the plastic marble.

Kagome had told him that if the right wish was made, the jewel was disappear.

Did not Kikyou say the same thing to him fifty years ago? Amazing how he had forgotten that discussion. Inuyasha began to tell Kagome the story of Kikyou's wish.

He and Kikyou had developed feelings for each other. They wanted to be together, but the fighting went on over the jewel.

If only Inuyasha would wish to became human, The jewel would be purified The fighting would end. They could live together as husband and wife.

He would no longer have to fight as a hanyou for survival She would no longer have to fight as

a miko to protect the jewel.

The jewel prevented its demise by creating Naraku. He tricked both of them and led to their deaths.

Oddly enough, Inuyasha thought, the jewel did grant Kikyou's wish to end the fighting over the

jewel. Unfortunately, it ended the fighting over jewel by killing Kikyou.

Kikyou completed the process of ending the fighting by having the jewel cremated with her body.

The jewel was persistent. Kikyou may have wished to end the fighting, but she had a lingering affection for Inuyasha.

This lingering affection caused the jewel to be reborn inside Kagome when she was reincarnated from Kikyou. This affection also lured her back to the Sengoku Jidai.

Once Kagome was back in the Sengoku Jidai, the fighting over the jewel resumed. It would

continue until someone made the Right Wish.

Inuyasha finished his story of Kikyou's Wish.

Kagome reflected on the story Kikyou's Wish to stop the fighting over the jewel had failed.

Kagome would not stop fighting until her seal was broken and jewel was purified.

.


	8. Fade To Black

Title: Fade to Black

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13 for darkness

Genre: Darkfic.

Universe.:Canon

Pairing:None

Word Count:329

Warning: Somewhat dark Inuyash Fanfic Week 144- Tentacles Theme

Summary: Kikyo has a dream about the jewel

It had been a long day. There had been babies to birth. The sick to heal. Children to play with

Herbs to gather. Flowers to pick. Now she would have some time just for her. She fell asleep

She was there. There were men clad in strange armor bowing to her in the rain. There was a

jewel. Tentacles were coming out of the jewel towards her.. She woke up screaming.

FADE TO BLACK

She was there. There was a boy with dog ears. There was a jewel. Tentacles were coming out

of the jewel towards her. She woke up screaming

FADE TO BLACK

She was there. There was a man covered with bandages. There was a jewel. Tentacles were coming out of the jewel towards her. She woke up screaming.

FADE TO BLACK

She was there. There someone was ripping her with his claws. There was a jewel. Tentacles were coming out of the jewel towards her. She woke up screaming.

FADE TO BLACK

She was there. There was boy hanging on a tree. There was a jewel. Tentacles were coming out

of the jewel towards her. She woke up screaming.

FADE TO BLACK

She was there. There she was burning on a pyre. There was a jewel. Tentacles were coming out

of the jewel towards her. She woke up screaming.

FADE TO BLACK

She was there. There was a mother. There was a jewel. Tentacles were coming out of the jewel.towards her She woke up screaming.

FADE TO BLACK.

She was there. There was a well. There was a jewel. Tentacles were coming out of the jewel towards her She woke up screaming,

FADE TO BLACK.

She was there. There was a boy hanging on a tree. There was a jewel Tentacles were coming out of the jewel towards her. She woke up screaming

FADE TO BLACK

"Kikyo, wake up " said Kaede. " There are some men here to see you."

There was a jewel. Tentacles were coming out of the jewel towards her. She woke up screaming.

FADE TO BLACK.


	9. A Girl can Dream

Title: A Girl Can Dream

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Genre: Introspective

Universe: Canon

Word Count: 463

Pairing: None

Warning:None Wilted Rose-Week One-Flower Theme

Summary: Kikyo daydreams about having a family.

She waved to the children as they ran down to the hill to their homes, their mothers, their fathers,

their brothers and their sisters. In e her other hand was a bouquet of flowers that the children

had given her.

She sighed. Her tiredness finally overwhelmed her She flopped backwards in the waiting bed of grasses and wild flowers. If Kaede were not waiting at home for her to fix supper ,the peacefulness of the summer afternoon would have eased her into a tranquil slumber. All seemed well with the world for the moment.

Rousing herself, she opened her eyes to gaze upon the flowers which she had been given by the children. At the time she had been too busy taking care of the children to do more than thank the children for their gift as they pressed it into her hand.

She was somewhat taken aback by what she saw. Her training in Hankatoba kicked in even before she began to examine the bouquet..There were violets, forget-me-nots, lilacs and lilies of the valley. A purple and white anthem of love.

She almost laughed. Surely this was a cruel joke of the kami. Love had never touched her.

Yet there they were. Violet: Please love me Forget-me-not: True Love Lilacs: First Love and

Lily of the Valley: The Promise of Love. The aroma of the flowers overwhelmed her senses. She fell deeply under the spell of the flowers of love.

Under the spell she could see herself with her husband in her home taking care of her children. The want and desire for this life was overwhelming. If only she were not a miko she could become the wife and mother that she longed to be.. Shocked, she wondered where that thought had come from..

She had been trained from childhood by her master at the temple that even thoughts of affection

would weaken her powers. The master's chief disciple had often chided her not to think about persons of the opposite sex.

She was distracted for the moment by name of the master's chief disciple, Tsubaki. Irony struck

her. The name itself made her smile since in the language of flowers Tsubaki stood for love. An yet this person told her that she could even feel affection without weakening her powers.

Her purity was her strength. It was source of her power. Thoughts of home and hearth. Husband and Children would weaken the spiritual power which was required of her as a miko.

She could hear Kaede yelling for her to come home. Her bastion of solitude on the grassy hillside

had been breached. She would return to world of the miko, where she was not allowed to be a wife or a mother. Still a girl can dream.


	10. Shattered Illusions

Title: Shattered Illusions

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Universe: Canon

Paring: Inuyasha/Kikyo , Inuyasha/Kagome

Warning: None Week 2, The Wilted Rose Spoiler for Chapter 77 Italics Viz Translation

Summary: Kikyou is shocked when she discovers that Inuyasha may love Kagome more

She had been sure of his love when he agreed to her plan to use the Sacred Jewel so that they could live together as husband and wife. Even in death she had been sure of his love. She could not bring herself to kill him.. She felt only love and sadness as she tried to hug him as he hung on the tree. Instead of saving herself she had followed him in death.

His actions after her resurrection confirmed to her that he still loved her. He had embraced her,

tried to save her and refuse to try kill her or defend himself. . If he loved her, then surely he would want to die with her..

She began to gather her strength by using the soul of the dead girls. She formulated plans to lure the hanyou to her..

When she met him again his actions confirmed her belief in his love. When he proclaimed that he could not go a day without thinking about her, the sentiment overwhelmed her so much that she kissed amd hugged him . They could be together forever.

Her reincarnation ruined her plans. She had pulled the stolen souls from her and awakened Inuyasha with her voice.

Kikyou was unprepared for what he happened next. Instead of staying with her and allowing her to pull him into hell with her, he rushed to the side of the girl from the future and freed her from the tree.

Kikyou was in shock. She had never imagined that he would prefer that girl to her. All of her pretense fell away. Her mask disappeared. A forlorn look spread across her as she blurted

out the pain that her heart felt at that moment " Is that girl more precious to you than me?"


	11. To accept the things I cannot change

Title: To accept the things I cannot change

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Genre: Introspection

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyou

Word Count: 692

Universe: Canon

Warning: Impending doom. Wilted Rose Week 3 -Acceptance

Summary: Kikyou decides that her life as a miko is no longer acceptable and tries to change her life.

"Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."-- Saint Francis of Assisi

The morning light streamed in the window of her hut. She awoke with a start . It must be some time after sunrise She had overslept. He must already be waiting for her, wondering where she was..

Inuyasha's visit in the middle of the night had been surprising.. He had changed both the time and place that they would meet. She had to admit that his visit had caught her off guard. Most of the night had been spent making sure that the Shikon no Tama was pure enough.

Normally , she would have bathed and purified herself before the ceremony. Because she was late she did what she could to make sure that she did not offend the kami.

She gazed at the Jewel. It had become the symbol of her oppression. Now it was to become the symbol of her liberation. Before the Jewel had come into her life, she had slipped into almost a pleasant routine. She enjoyed healing the sick, playing with the children, raising the herbs, delivering babies and attending to duties of the shrine. It helped her ignore the fact that all of the girls that she had grown up with in the village were married with children. She actually spent more time with the children than their parents.

Since the Jewel it had all changed. Youkai attacked at all hours of the day and night. She had to carry her bow and arrows wherever she went. The children became a subject of controversy. The parents felt that since she and Jewel were the subject of the attacks that the children should not be allowed to be with her. She had to spend large amounts of time purifying herself and the Jewel.

It was the constant fighting that had pushed her to the position she was in now. She was tired pf fighting all of the time. Inuyasha was right when he had told her that she reeked of the blood of youkai. She shot them on sight any more without thinking. None of them were serious threats to her powers, but she was taking no chances. The one exception to her shoot first and ask questions later approach was Inuyasha.

Inuyasha. He was so much a part of her life, so much a part of her dream of escaping the oppression of the Jewel. He had started as a mere annoyance hanging around her looking for opportunity to steal the Jewel. Unlike the other youkai he had never seriously attacked her. She sensed this and made a sincere effort not to kill him. He seemed to want the Jewel, but not simply for power as the other youkai. Maybe it was because he was only a hanyou. Gradually, they came to a truce. They both were loners and needed someone. else in their lives.Now they were inseperable. Inuyasha was her shadow, her only friend and the man she loved.

It was she who suggested wishing on the jewel to make him human. The common belief surrounding the jewel was that if a pure wish was made on the jewel the jewel would disappear.She hoped that they were right. If the jewel disappeared then her duty as a miko to protect the jewel would be at an end. He had told her that he wanted to live together with her as husband and wife. This could only happen if he became human and she was no longer a miko.

She would no longer accept the way things were. She dreamed of a life with Inuyasha Today was the day that everything would change. These thoughts gave wings to her feet and she ran as if the hounds of hell were chasing her. The clearing was just ahead.Their destiny was in front of them. They just had to reach out and grab it. At last they would bothbe happy .and at peace. How ironic that the Jewel which had caused her so much grief would bring her the love, home and family that she had always wanted.


	12. Kikyou's Gift

Title: Kikyou's Gift

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Drama/Angst

Universe: Canon

Rating: PG-13

Warning:Character Death; Spoiler for Chapter 529;Inuyasha Quotes

Summary: Kikyou's light revives Kohaku

"Faith is a knowledge within the heart beyond the reach of proof."- Kahlil Gibran

The stench of failure had filled the air around Kohaku's dead body. Inuyasha was on his knees hitting the ground because he could not save Kikyou or Kohaku. Kagome was crying because she had not been to fulfill her promise to Kikyou to protect Kohaku's shard. Sango felt the brunt of the pain and despair. It was her dead brother she was holding in her arms. The brother whom justa moment before she had told that he could live again was dead. She was the one who had failedto protect her brother. Before she had least had hope that she could redeem Kohaku's soul Nowall she had left was a dead body.

A light began to glow within Kohaku. It grew until finally it enveloped him. To the surprise of everyone Kohaku began to stir. He was alive. All of them began to realize what had happened.

Kikyou's light had let go of Kohaku's shard and remained in Kohaku's body. Kikyou who had wanted to use Kohaku's shard to purify Naraku. had chosen instead to save Kohaku's life over destroying Naraku.

In giving her light to restore Kohaku. She had given each of them a gift. To Kohaku she had given. life. To Sango she had given a brother. To Kagome she had a hope that she could renew her powers and a relief that she had not failed Kohaku. To Inuyasha she gave the greatest gift. She repaid his faith in her.

He had told her that he knew that she was were not the kind of woman who could exchange the life of Kohaku in order to complete the Shikon no Tama. . He had believed in her when she hated and tried to kill him. He had believed in her when she tried to drag him to hell He had believed in her when Kagome had hated her for trying to kill her and had been jealous of her bond with Inuyasha He had believed in her when Sango hated her for wanting to use Kohaku's shard. He had believed in her even though his entire group was angry at both of them for his visits to see her. He had believed in her when she had handed the shard to Naraku. He believed in her even though she would not let him protect her. He had believed in her even though his many attempts to strengthen his sword to kill Naraku before she did might belie that belief.

His faith had been rewarded. Kikyou was the woman he had always known her to be. The woman he loved. Her body might be gone. Her light might be extinguished. She would always live on in his heart and his soul. Her last words to him echoed in his mind " I will always watch over you."

Inuyasha murmured a silent prayer " Thank you, Kikyou. I will always love you.".


	13. Don't Call Me Miko

Title: Don't Call Me Miko

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Introspective

Word Count: 231

Universe: Canon

Rating: G

Pairing: None

Warning: None Wilted Rose Title Theme/Week Four

Summary: Kikyou explains what she is.

Don't call me miko. I am not one of those simpering shrine maidens who assist priests in performing the religious rites and dance the kagura to please the kami, Don't get me wrong.I can perform all of the dances to perfection and no priest knows the rites better than I do.My father who was a priest and my master taught me that I could be much more than a shrine maiden.

It was their training which set me on the path I tread today. Raised as priests daughter. Trained to be a priestess. Put into the fire as a kitoshi. I returned home on my parents death to raise my sister and undertake the duties of the village priest.

But the kami had greater plans for me. I am no longer miko or priestess. As guardian of the Jewel I have become kamiko. The substance on which the kami manifest themselves. The kami have made me strong in order to protect the jewel.

My spells are powerful I can control human, nature, and demon with them. Purifying power flows from my fingertips. My bow can bring down the mightiest youkai. I laugh in their faces as they die. Who are they that they think that they can take the Jewel from me. Look upon me all youkai and despair. I am your Death. Come to me and be purified.


	14. Carrying Water for Kikyou

Title: Carrying Water for Kikyou

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Genre: Angt/Romance

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyou Inuyasha/Kagome

Universe:Canon

Word Count:248

Warning: Character Death Issekiwa - Water Theme

Summary: Inuyasha always defends Kikyou

Ever since Kikyou had revived he had been carrying water for her. When Kikyou tried to kill him, he hugged her . If souls were needed used to animate Kikyou, Inuyasha felt Kikyou justified in using them. It was his fault that she was killed because he did not believe in her. It allowed him to ignore the fact that Kikyou had not saved him in the Kohdaku and the Illusory Death and tried to kill Kagome. If Kikyou told him that she had a plan to kill Naraku by giving him the shards, he believed her. When Kikyou was attacked by Naraku, Inuyasha became convinced that he must leave Kagome to protect Kikyou even though Kikyou did not want his protection. He thought he owed her his life because she had died following after him

He defended her even though Sango and Kagome hated her and all of his friends felt that she was no good. He searched for her even though it left Kagome at Naraku's mercy. He tried to strengthen his sword so that he could kill Naraku before Kikyou used Kohaku's shard to do to purify Naraku because he believed that Kikyou was not the kind of woman who could kill another person to achieve her end.

In the end he cried because he could not save Kikyou. She was just happy that he always had faith in her so that she could spend a moment of happiness with him as an ordinary woman.


	15. Boot Camp

Title: Boot Camp

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Universe:Canon

Pairing: None

Word Count: 544

Warnings: None Wilted Rose-Week 5-Abuse

Summary: Kikyou meets Tsubaki at the temple as she starts her training to be a priestess

Tsubaki looked at the new group of trainees as they assembled in front of her. The master hadjust introduced her and left to began his prayers for the day. It never ceased to amaze her how worthless these young girls were. Not even a good snack for a demon. Somehow the master expected her to turn this rabble into mikos and priestesses. She knew the majority would leave after a few weeks. The training of a priestess in the temple was not for the meek. The life washard, the rewards few. It was her job to show the young acolytes just how hard that life was Those who survived would go on to train with the master.

She was the gatekeeper to the master. It was a duty that she jealously guarded. She had been with the master since she was five years old. The master had taught her personally. She still accompanied him if he chose to travel. She turned back to the motley crew and began to speak in a loud demanding tone.

" I am your mother and your father. All of your family are now to dead to you. You will obey everything I say. You will eat when I tell to eat. You will sleep when I tell you to sleep. You will learn to everything I teach you to do until you can do it right. Your survival depends on you learning the techniques that I teach you. I will not have you disgrace the master. You are not here to learn to be shrine maidens. That you can learn from your village priest. You will learn to perform the rituals and dances perfectly till you can do them in your sleep simply because it is expected of you in your role as a priestess.. But this is not why you are here. You are here to become a servant of the kami. If you are not prepared to do this, leave now."

There was a murmuring in the ranks. A few girls even ran away crying. Better to get rid of them than to have them break down under the master's review of their progress. Tsubaki surveyed the remaining girls for that one girl who might be a threat to her position with the master. The one who actually had power of the kami within her. She had trained girls for many years and had found no one who measured up to her own power.

She stopped suddenly in front of a girl who was somewhat older than the rest. The power flowed from this one. The energy surged around her. It was a girl about 10 years old whose father a village priest had sent her to train to be a priestess. Tsubaki scowled at her. This one was a threat to her position with the master. She would have to be broken and sent back to her family in disgrace. Tsubaki. could not allow her to complete the training at the temple.

"Girl, what is your name.?"

"My name is Kikyou, Tsubaki-sama."

"Well, Kikyou, by the time I am through with you, you will wish that you had never met me, Doyou understand.?"

Kikyou stared back at Tsubaki with a determined look through those steely grey-blue eyes without blinking and never averting her gaze.

"Yes, Tsubaki-sama, I understand."


	16. Scattered Souls

Title: Scattered Souls

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Universe: Canon

Word Count: 248

Pairing: None

Warning: Spoiler for Chapter 465 The Wilted Rose Week 6

Kagome gazed in wonder as the souls which had once been Kikyou's flowed in a glowing procession up the dark hillside. She could feel their warmth as they passed.

The soul collectors were darting in and out among the Inutachi chasing the souls which had been loosed by the disintegration of Kikyou's body. They seemed to have a particular soul in their sights. When at last they captured it they began their long ascent to the heavens..

A year ago Kagome had been like many young people of her generation. She had openly mocked the beliefs of her own grandfather in the Kami and worship of the ancestors. No one she knew believed that anyone had a soul.

All that had been changed by her trip through the well. The part of her soul had .been ripped from her. The person she had been reincarnated from had been resurrected. It was amazing that someone who had once been an inert part of her own soul could hate her so much and desire the love of the same man that she did.

Kikyou's suffering was over..At last she could find peace. She was ascending because Kagome had saved her soul. In her last moments on her life Kikyou had finally become the person that she always wanted to be.

Her mission had passed to Kagome. Kagome wished Kikyou well on the next stop on her journey to Nirvana as the scattered souls disappeared into the heavens..


	17. Deadly Sins

Kikyou entered the Hitomi Castle like a conquering daiymo. The arrogance of Naraku in trying

to kill her with his giant soul collector. She would make sure that he understood that he could never touch her again.

Naraku gazed at her. Only hours before she had been in Inuyasha's at the base of Goshinboku.

How foolish she must be to think she could just march into his castle without a price. She would pay for her pride.

Kikyou sneered at Naraku. " Did you think that you could get rid of me so easily. I know that you

attacked me because the human heart of Onigumo pines for me. You hoped that your monster would kill me and rid yourself of your feelings for me. Such a weak and unskilled attack will not

work against me." With those words Kikyou fired an arrow which disintegrated Naraku's arm.

Naraku was unflappable . He retorted " Kikyou, you really are a fool coming here alone. You have brought your obedient puppy along with you. Do you actually believe that you come into my castle and live"

A monster slithered out of a pot in the room and attacked the priestess. The monster disintegrated into a thousand pieces.

Kikyou smiled at the Avatar of Hell. " Your offspring are part of you. They cannot hurt me anymore than you can. I have covered myself in earth soaked with Onigumo's feelings. His feelings create a barrier which protects me from you. You cannot kill me so long as you have a

human heart and remain a half demon.

With those words, the priestess strode haughtily from the castle confident that she never need fear Naraku. again. Later, Naraku pondered her words as he sat in what remained of Hitomi Castle. Kikyou was too proud. In her arrogance to show him that he could not hurt her, she

had given him the key to her demise.

It was true that so long as the heart of Onigumo beat within him he could not harm Kikyou. He would just have to completely rid himself of his human heart. When he did Kikyou would die.

She would pay for pride and arrogance. He had nothing but contempt for her. When he removed

his human heart and completed the Shikon no Tama, nothing would stop him from bringing the haughty priestess to her knees. He would swallow her pride..


	18. Rebirth

Title: Rebirth

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Universe: Canon

Pairing: References to Inuyasha/Kikyou (Implied Inuyasha/Kagome)

Genre: Darkfic

Warning: Reference to Character Death

Summary: The Jewel and Kikyou reawaken prior to Kagome's birth

She awakes alone in the dark. In her mind she is aware of the murmurings just under the surface The noise has been there so long that she no longer heard it. Now it is deafening. Still she welcomes them as forgotten friends. There are many new voices that joined the chorus. Gradually she realizes that she is now part of the chorus. Her voice is now just one of many.

She is lost and disoriented. She seems to floating in a sea of blood and fluids. There is no indication of where she is.

Her last memories flood back to her. She had died trying to hug her beloved as he hung on Goshinboku pinned in eternal sleep by her arrow. Her sister had been told to burn the jewel with her body to remove it from the earth. She had made one last wish on the jewel to end the fighting and breathed her last. Her goal had been to banish the jewel from the world and follow after her beloved in death.

A voice disturbed her thoughts. It was a sweet and pleasing voice. It called to her.

"Ready yourself, Kikyou. I have heard your wish and I are prepared to grant it."

Kikyou froze. She instinctively knew the source of the voice even thought she had never heard it before. This was impossible. The jewel was gone forever. How could it speak to her?

" Kikyou, I have sensed your lingering affection for Inuyasha. I will grant your wish and bring you back to him."

Her worst nightmares were being realized. The Jewel had returned to the World. Worse still it knew of her desire to be with Inuyasha. That should never happen. Inuyasha had betrayed her and caused her death. She had followed after him so that she would never have to face him again.

She attempted to fight the Jewel. The Jewel must never be allowed to return to the world.

But in the end her resistance was futile.

" Sleep now, Miko, when you awake you will meet your beloved."

If she had a voice, she would have screamed. She felt herself and all of the voices been submerged within a greater soul.

"Move toward the light." urged the Jewel. "Today is a new day for your soul. It is the day when all of your wishes come true."

Her cogent thoughts were of Inuyasha as he hung on the Tree. If only they had not died, they could have been happy together.

The baby emerged into the world. The doctor gazed at it and announced. " It is a girl, Mrs. Higurashi."

Without hesitation the mother whispered "We will call her Kagome."


	19. A Fallen Woman

Title: A Fallen Woman

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Darkfic

Word Count: 236

Universe: Canon

Prompt 2:Fallen

Warning: Character Death Inu kaiden Week 2

Summary: Kikyou ponders her death.

She was a fallen woman

Fallen. She had fallen into pool of her own blood. Cut by deadly claws which sliced her open

from her shoulder to her chest.

Fallen. She betrayed her calling. This was the just punishment of the kami for betraying their trust in her as a servant of their servant.

Fallen. She had fallen in love. Tsubaki would laugh at her if she could see her now. She had told her that this would happen to her if she fell in love with a man.

Fallen. She had failed in her duty to protect the Jewel.. Instead, she had endeavored to use the Jewel so that she and her beloved could become human and live together as husband and wife.

Fallen. Into the depths of despair as the hanyou taunted her. He had never loved her. He had never wanted to become human. He had never wanted to live together as husband and wife. He was merely using her to obtain the Jewel so that he could become a youkai.

Fallen. She would fall into the pits of hell reserved for those who break their promises to kami when she died.

Somehow she steeled herself to rise again. She would reclaim the Jewel and kill the hanyou. Only then could she die and take the Jewel with her to hell so that it could never make another fall again.

If only she had never fallen for Inuyasha.


	20. Let it Die

Title: Let it Die

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Darkfic

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyo(allusion to Inuyasha/Kagome)

Rating: PG-13

Universe: Canon

Warning: Spoiler for Chapter 48-49. Inuyasha Songfic Week 3

Summary: Kikyou attempts to kill Inuyasha after her resurrection

Song lyric in bold

Disclaimer: Inuyasha et al are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and her corporate lackeys. I do not profit from this songfic. "Let it Die" is owned by the Foo Fighters and those who own or have rights to its use. I do not profit from the use of this song.

Kikyou was now a revenant made of bone and graveyard soil baked in clay. A demon in the guise of a miko. The dark power of vengeance now moved her. She had never wanted to be revived and had killed her reviver She had resisted resurrection, but lost her concentration when Inuyasha spoke her name. Now she was face to face with the lover who had killed her

**Heart of gold but it lost its pride**

**Beautiful veins and bloodshot eyes**

**I've seen your face in another light**

**Why'd you have to go and let it die?**

"BETRAYER", yelled Kikyo, as she attempted to purify Inuyasha ."You were the one whose claws I felt rip through my shoulder and my chest. You were one who stole the Jewel. You stood over me taunting me with the Jewel while I lay in a pool of my own blood."

Why'd you have to go and let it die?

Why'd you have to go and let it die?

In too deep and out of time.

Why'd you have to go and let it die?

" I believed you when you said you would turn human. I would have become an ordinary woman. Together as humans we could have lived together as husband. I trusted you and brought the jewel to you for that purpose. I loved you. I was a fool to think that I could live out my life with you. Instead, you taunted me and told me that you had never wanted to be human. You had never wanted to live with me. That you did not love me. It was all a ruse to lure me to bring the Jewel to you. When I brought the Jewel to you, you struck me down and stole the Jewel.

A simple man and his blushing bride

Intravenous, intertwined

Hearts gone cold your hands were tied

Why'd you have to go and let it die?

" It is too late for love. I died hating you. Now all I have is hate I cannot have peace until I have killed you. Only then can I release the hate. Only then can my soul return to Kagome's body and I cannot find peace. That is why I sealed you to the tree. We were never supposed to meet again. NowI have to do the one thing that I could not bring myself to do while I was alive. Kill you."

Why'd you have to go and let it die?

Why'd you have to go and let it die?

In too deep and out of time.

Why'd you have to go and let it die?

"Now you tell me again that you wanted to become human. That you wanted to live together with as husband and wife. That you did not betray or cause my wounds. I know it was you. I felt yourclaws rend my flesh. I heard your voice taunting. I heard the word of betrayal. The way that you sarcastically mocked my love and my trust in you. I cannot forgive you for betraying me."

**Do you ever think of me?**

**You're so considerate.**

**Do you ever think of me?**

**Oh, so considerate.**

"All I wish is your death, Inuyasha." With those words Kikyou charged at Inuyasha. Her powers flared from her hands. It was clear that this time she meant to kill Inuyasha in the same manner that she had previously killed Urasuae. Inuyasha was too stunned to move. He was unwilling to lift his hand against the woman he loved. He bowed his head and waited for death.

**Why'd you have to go and let this die?**

**Why'd you have to go and let this die?**

**Why'd you have to go and let this die?**

**Why'd you have to go and let this die?**


	21. The Kiss of Death

Title: The Kiss of Death

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Romanc/Angst/Darkfic

Universe: Canon

Pariing: Inuyasha/Kikyou (Inuyasha/Kagome)

Word Count: 358

Warning:Spoiler for Chapter 76 Inuyasha Fanfc Week 157./ First Kiss

Summary: Kikyou's love for Inuyasha changes her plans.

She had prepared so hard for this moment. Now her strength was restored. The soul of the young girls would give her the strength to kill Inuyasha. She knew Inuyasha would come. Her barrier was an open invitation to him. She would allow him in only when she was ready to finish him. The table was set. Her feeble incarnation was under wraps where she would not interfere. There would be no mistakes this time. Only by killing Inuyasha could she release her hate and find peace in the afterlife.

Her resolve was short-lived. All it took was Inuyasha saying " I haven't stopped thinking about you for a single day" and " I don't care what you look like-I could never find you disgusting."

All of her defenses melted like snow at sakura-time. The hate she had felt towards Inuyasha was washed away. In its place was the love and desire that had always been hidden under the surface.

She could not help herself. All of the things that had been forbidden to her were suddenly allowed to her. She was free to love Inuyasha the way that she had always wanted to before she died. No longer was she restricted as a miko. She could love him as a woman.

Instead of killing him as she could have when she touched him, she closed her eyes and kissed him and embraced him. Kagome and Inuyasha were shocked. But for Kikyou it was what she always wanted to do with Inuyasha when she alive.

She could not feel the touch of his lips or the warmth of his embrace. But she was where she had wanted to be before she died in the arms of her lover. No longer did she wish for peace. She could never let Inuyasha go. As Inuyasha held her as and asked she wanted him to do, she knew.

She would take him to hell.. Not even the flames of hellfire would extinguish their love. Surely, Inuyasha wanted to die with her as much as she did. They could hold each other forever. In hell they would never be parted again.


	22. Lost in the Dust

Title: Lost in the Dust

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Darkfic

Universe: Canon

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyou

Word Count:48

Warning: Spoiler for Chapter 465 Inukaiden Prompt 3 Whiispers

Summary: Inuyasha watches Kikyou disintegrate.

He had failed. The dust and souls swirled around him like a ghostly whirlwind. His love and all of his efforts to save her were simply dust in the wind. He clung to a whispered promise at the end saying." I will watch over you." like a drowning man.


	23. Someone to Watch Over Me

Title: Someone to Watch Over Me

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Songfic

Universe: Canon post 558

Rating: G

Word Count: 780 including lyrics

Warning: None Inuyasha Songfics Week 5 /Haunt Me Spoiler for Chapter 465

Summary: Kikyou performs her duties as Inuyasha's guardian kami

Disclaimer: Inuyasha et al belong to Rumiko Takahashi and any parties which own or have rights to their use. The Song "Haunt me" by Sade belongs to the parties who own it or have rights to its use.. The author does not profit from this songfic.

A/N Song lyrics to "Haunt Me " by Sade are in bold

**Haunt me**

**In my dreams**

**If you please**

She watched them as they slept. They were her charges. So peaceful in their beds. Like little angels. Kagome was so lucky. If only she could have lived to have children. Such wistful thinking was unworthy of a kami. It was because of Kagome that she had ascended. Now she must fulfill the promise she was made to Inuyasha. As his guardian kami she would watch over him and his family forever. It was not too much to ask for what he had given to her. She could not help but smile as they slept. They would always have pleasant dreams while she was their guardian.

**You're breath is with me now and always**

**It's like a breeze**

She would see that they lived long and productive lives. The hand of fate was not in her control, but in all other matters she would make sure that their interests were always protected. That was the duty of the guardian kami. The thought that something bad might happen to her charges filled her with dread.

**So should you ever doubt me**

**If it's help that you need**

**Never dare to doubt me**

Inuyasha had doubted her only once in her life. He had never forgiven himself for that failure.She must ensure that he would never doubt her again. He knew what she had promised to for him. She must never betray that promise.

To her shock she discovered that one of her charges was missing. How could she have been so negligent. She had been so wrapped up in her reverie that one of the little girls had managed to slip away. Harm must never come to them.

Quickly she changed to her ethereal form and took to the skies. Combing the woods of Inuyasha's forest, she located the missing child. She found herself face to face with a very old, very large red dragon who was pondering what to do with a succulent snack..

" Unhand that maiden, worm. She is my charge as her guardian kami."

The dragon smirked at her " She is mine. It is hard to find virgins in this part of Japan. I have eaten better kami than you . Leave this little one for me or I will send you to hell."

As the dragon droned on and on she knew that she must attack while he was boasting or he would bore her to death. The kami laughed as she loosed a volley of arrows at the beast. She had been to hell. The threat of hellfire would never dissuade her from performing. The dragon was seemingly caught off guard. He had expected the kami to relent in the face of his assault. The purification arrows had hit the mark. They began to destroy the fabric of his youkai. He tried to scream, but soon he was no more than a memory.

**And if you want to sleep**

**I'll be quiet**

**Like an angel**

She gathered the little one in her arms and started back to the village. It had been a close call. Another minute and she could not have saved the little girl from the dragon. Better to let the little one sleep now. She should have the pleasant dreams that little girls have No dreams of death and dragons.

**As quiet as your soul could be**

**If you only knew**

**You had a friend like me**

The little girl need never know that she had a guardian kami to watch over. It was enough that she was save from harm. Hopefully, the little girl would never face another dragon, but if she did her guardian kami would be there to protect her..

**So should you ever doubt me**

**If it's help that you need**

**Never dare to doubt me**

She finally laid the girl in her bed. It had been a long night for all of them. The girl could surely use some rest. She began to retreat to the shadows when the girl suddenly awoke and began calling for her parents.

Inuyasha rushed into her room and hugged her to his chest. The girl was trembling. Her bed clothes were dirt. Her face and arms were dirty and her hair was all messed up. What could have happened to her?

" Daddy, I had the most horrible dream. A dragon was about to eat me. Suddenly, a woman who looked like mommy fired an arrow at the dragon and it exploded. The next thing I knew I was in my bed."

"There, there. No one will disturb your sleep now. Go back to sleep."

Inuyasha stayed with her until she finally fell asleep. He stood up and looked into the shadows.

"Thank you, Kikyou."

In reply, Kikyou silently mouthed the promise she had made to him as she was dying. " I will always watch over you." She would always be there to slay dragons for Inuyasha..


	24. Succubus

Title: Succubus

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Darkfic/Shojo ai/Soulcest/Soul cannibalism

Pairing: Kagome/Kikyou

Rating: M

Universe: Canon Divergence (Divergence at Page 13 of Chapter 309)

Warning: Shojo ai/Soulcest/Soul cannibalism; inu kaiden Prompt 5:Depravity tie for 1st place

Summary: Kagome awakens at the pool.

She awoke to the feeling of someone fondling her breasts. This must be a dream. Just a minute ago she had been in the pool with Kikyou saving her from the wounds that Naraku had inflicted and purifying the miasma. Now she was naked and the undead miko was straddling her. The soul collectors were depositing the souls of the lost girls into Kikyou. Kagome could feel the anguish of each and every of them as they become fodder for the greedy revenant.

When Kikyou was finished devouring them, she turned her attention again to Kagome. She eyed her hungrily. Kagome could feel her reach out toward her soul as if Kikyou wanted to take it from her once more. The undead miko began to attack the teenager in her naked nether regions. Kagome gasped as Kikyou began to probe her vagina with her fingers and tongue. She almost died when Kikyou started to rub her clit.

Kagome was entirely unprepared. She and her friends had been reading Shoujo-Ai manga at WacDonalds for as long as she remembered. They had bought her first vibrator at thirteen. It had been one of the activities they had engaged in at their slumber parties. Their parents all assumed that they sat up all night talking about boys.

She steeled herself against the pleasures that Kikyou was giving to her. and plunged ahead. Soon she was the one on top eating Kikyou's snatch. Kikyou began to lose her concentration. Just as Kikyou had been probing to see if she could steal back part of her soul, so Kagome began to spirit away the souls that were the life blood of the undead miko.

Each lost soul that she sucked from Kikyou was full of such exquisite pain. It thrilled her as they lost their battles to maintain their individuality and became one with her. At last there were no more souls left between herself and that piece of her soul which Kikyou held. She would be made whole at last.

The pleasure had become almost torture for Kikyou. She had never felt anything like this in her life. She began to beg Kagome for release. As she gazed into those steel blue eyes she saw a reflection of herself. Suddenly she was afraid. Sensing her fear, Kagome held her closer and told her that everything would be alright. Kikyou began to relax.

Kagome quickly brought Kikyou to the point of orgasm so that she would lose control. When she did Kagome would have her. The undead miko was helpless before her. She could feel the undertow dragging her toward Kagome. She wanted to stop to maintain her individuality, but the current was sweeping her away. Her mind went white. Kagome pounced. "Mine." she exclaimed. Every part of the soul which had been Kikyou's was now returned to her. .

The clay body which been created by Urasuae from bones and graveyard soil crumbled into andwas swept away by the wind. The shikigami faded and flared. Soon there was nothing left of Kikyou, but a red hakama, a white tabi and a white ribbon. Kagome set them afire with a lighter and hair spray.. They burned to ash as Kagome dressed in her sailor fuku.

When the Inutachi arrived , Inuyasha began sniffing around. Kagome yelled at him " She is already gone." He stared at her for a moment and then turned his back to leave. When he had gone the soul collectors approached her . Kagome gazed at them and spoke. " Come to me at midnight. Tonight we feast."


	25. Deliver Us From Evil

Title: Deliver Us From Evil

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Introspection/Angst

Universe: Canon

Word Count: 247

Rating: PG-13

Warning: Spoiler for Chapter 271-272 . Inuyasha Fanfic Week 162/Evil

Summary: Kikyou wonders how she can be saved.

She sighed as she watched St.Hakushin's soul ascend. Her conversation with him had forced her to examine herself. She was like him in many ways. In her life she had tried to live with doubt and without fear She had denied her humanity..

When she had been resurrected, she had been full of hate and the desire for revenge. She had become very demon that she had always fought against. She was willing to use any means to achieve her ends.

Nothing mattered except revenge against Naraku. In her arrogance she had become a creature who was no better than Naraku. It was no wonder that she could not pass the saint's barrier. She had changed from the epitome of purity to the monster that she was today.

All wanted to be saved. When the criminal had died, she had brought his soul to Mt. Hakurei to be saved. She had saved Suikotsu by purifying his shard. Hakushin had obtained his release when he realized that he was entitled to peace.

She was no different than them. In many ways she envied them. Despite all the evil they had done, in the end they were saved and all found peace. She longed to free of the earthly burdens that had been thrust upon her. Only by obtaining peace could she stop being the monster that she had become and regain her humanity.. She had saved them all. She wondered who would be there to save her.


	26. Evening the Score

Title: Evening the Score

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Action

Prompt 1

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyou

Universe: Canon

Word Count: 755

Warning: Spoiler for Anime Episode "The Tragic Love Song of Destiny" #147

Feual Tales Week 15 Prompt 1

Summary: A follow up to their first meeting.

Prompt 1. InuYasha stood defiantly in the stream, the water running red around his ankles. He growled and spat out the tooth that had just been knocked loose by the enemy before him.

The oni was still nearly unscathed while the hanyou was sliced to ribbons. He knew that he must either kill it quickly or find somewhere to hide where the monster could not get at him. Maybe it was the extra thumps to the head that he had taken from the monster's club. Something made him stand up to the beast.

The beast stood twenty feet and the ground shook when it walked. It had a large humanoid shape with the required fangs, claws and horns that so many oni knew of such beasts, but usually avoided.

Today somehow he had been surprised by the beast. He had been sitting in his favorite tree the night before contemplating the miko who reeked of blood lying in the mud last night while he was in his human form. She had surprised him too. Her warning about the sacred jewel intrigued him.

If he had the sacred jewel he could become a a full youkai. As a full youkai beasts of this sort could be beaten with brute strength rather skill and perseverance. His mother had reveled him with tales of his great and glorious father and all of the beasts that he had vanquished with his mighty sword. Maybe with the jewel he could be the youkai that his old man had been and youkai that his brother was.

The surprise had been complete. The beast had knocked him off his perch with one swing. He could not avoid the club hit to his head. After that he had been unable to avoid the claws which continually slashed at his stomach.

His hand went to his open stomach wounds. Gathering the blood he leapt toward the oni invoking the attack with his cry " Blades of Blood". The blades seemed to knock the monster off staggered for a moment. Then it returned with even more rage.

It was time for his last ditch attack. This attack would most of his remaining youki to produce. He gathered himself and surged forward. His youki flared as the attack commenced. His battle cry of " Soul Shattering Iron Claw" rang out throughout the forest.

At the same time a group of arrows with a strong pinkish glow crashed into the monster. The attendant explosion of youki and spiritual energy caused the oni to disintegrate. The hanyou fell back unconcious onto the bank of the stream.

A woman with a bow wearing a white tabi and red hakama rapidly crossed the stream. Nothing remained of the oni. One less seeker of the sacred jewel. When she reached the far bank she gazed on the hanyou.

It was indeed the creature that had hid from her. She still wondered why it had not killed her when it had the chance. She had been unconcious face down in the mud. Her clothes had been covered with blood and she had been totally exhausted from killing youkai.

"Master hanyou. I see that you are still alive. Since you did not kill me when I was in your position., I will return the favor. Consider the score evened and my debt to repaid. Mark my word however, if you seek the sacred jewel I will be forced to kill you just as killed this oni. No further mercy will be shown to you. Consider yourself warned."

Inuyasha awoke much later. He was alive and the oni was dead. The smell of the miko whom had encountered on his human night hung in the air. Somehow she had destroyed the oni and yet had spared his life. This intrigued him. Definitely, a woman worth meeting again.

When she reached her home, she put away her bow and arrows and began to cook dinner for her sister. First, she had warned the hanyou when he had been in his human form. Then she had warned him again when he was helpless on the riverbank.

Usually she shot first at youkai and asked questions later. What was it about him that caused her to stay her hand. Knowing youkai she would probably meet him never took no for an answer. When they met again she would see what kind of threat he posed to the sacred jewel. Until then he would haunt her dreams.


	27. Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Title: Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: R

Genre: Darkfic/Redemption

Prompt 6:Saints and Sinners

Word Count:1517

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome, Inuyasha/Kikyou

Universe: Canon (Past Divergence up to the point of Kikyou's death)

Warning: Miscarriage, Character Death

Summary: Inuyasha lays his child to rest

A/N This is divergence from the story told in anime/manga about Inuyasha/Kikyou's relationship and offers an alternative view as to why she wanted him to become human. Kikyou is the saint and sinner here. She was a saint to the people as a priestess and Protector of the Sacred Jewel. What she did here would have been considered a sin or offense against the kami. In reading about Jizo you wonder if the Japanese have a better way of dealing with miscarriages than we do

She reread the letter again and again. It seemed to be an invitation. The letter was in courtly hiragana that he must have learned from the women in his grandfather's palace in Satsuma. The invitation merely asked the reader to come to Gosinboku at a particular place and time. Why would her husband send her an invitation? The invitation did not say what event she was being invited. The letter made her uneasy.

Recently, Inuyasha had been frequently absent from their home . Exorcisms seemed almost constant events. He and Miroku would return after days with bales of rice Inuyasha would only bring enough rice to keep them fed. The majority of the rice seemed to be going to Miroku. Kagome did not complain. Miroku had five mouths to feed. It was the inequality of the split that made her wonder what was going on.

She had tried to broach both the subject with Miroku and Kaede. Both of them brushed off her concerns telling her that nothing was amiss. Sango seemed as mystified as herself by the made her think that Miroku and Kaede knew something of what was going on while Sango had been kept in the it was her own pregnancy that caused her uneasiness. She knew from her sex educationthat hormones during pregnancy could lead to wild mood swings. Inuyasha's absence and unusual behavior did not help her feeling of forboding.

Finally, the day arrived. Apparently, they were supposed to meet at noon at Goshinboku. When Kagome arrived, Kaede was already there. Inuyasha and Miroku were dragging a cart to the tree.

Just then Sango and Shippou arrived.. Sango leaned over to Kagome and whispered

" I left the children with Rin. She should be able to handle them for a short time."

Miroku and Inuyashsa were hauling a statute in front of Goshinboku. Inuyasha seemed to know exactly where he wanted Miroku to place the statute. When they were finished Kagome stared at the stature that they had set up. She recognized the statute as the being the Buddhist deity, Jizo or .Ksitigarbha

She became even more perplexed by the statute. Jizo was the protector of infants who died before their parents. Kagome knew that in her own age Jizo was still worshiped as the guardian of the souls of stillborn, miscarried or aborted fetuses. No one had mentioned anyone losing a child. What was this all about?

Finally, when all were in place Inuyasha nodded to Kaede. Kaede began to chant the Shinto prayers for dead. When the prayers were finished, the yellow prayer beads were placed on the statute and Inuyasha tied a prayer ribbon to Goshinboku.

When he was done, he turned to Miroku. and nodded for him to proceed. Miroku began to chant the mantra to Jizo.. When he completed his mantra he piled small pebbles in front of statute He then turned to Inuyasha and indicated that it was his turn to proceed.

Inuyasha looked at his friends. He motioned for Kagome to join him. When she reached his side, he drew her to him by putting his arm around her shoulders. and placed his other hand on her belly. His touch brought her some comfort. Inuyasha had been away so much recently that she had spent many nights alone. It made her wonder why he felt the sudden need to be close to her.

It was comforting to be close, but it made her uneasy that something hidden was about to be revealed.

Inuyasha began.

"Once there was a hanyou and a priestess who fell in love. They would meet at midnight at Goshinboku. Eventually, they could not contain their passion any longer. Within a short time, the priestess became pregnant with their child. It was known only to the two of them. As time passed, the priestess began to show more, but still no one indicated that they knew of the shrine maiden's condition."

" The priestess began to notice that her powers were fading. Her ability to protect the jewel had been jeopardized by her condition. The hanyou took on more and more of the duty of protecting

the jewel and the priestess. One day the priestess was alone when a particularly vicious demon attacked her. She was severely wounded and barely escaped when the hanyou arrived to finish the demon"

"What happened next was horrible to both of us. The priestess suffered internal injuries At some point she began to bleed heavily in her lower regions and was in quite a bit of pain. Eventually the pain and the bleeding stopped. The hanyou could tell that the priestess was no longer pregnant. He tried to comfort her. They buried the remains at the base of Goshinboku. The spot was not marked for fear of what the villagers would do if they knew. But they both knew where the child had been laid to rest.."

" The priestess was devastated. Although she had dreaded people discovering that she was with child, the loss of her child had a profound effect on her. She began to feel that she had punished by the kami for having borne the child of a demon which she was supposed to remain pure. She was convinced that the loss of her powers coincided with her pregnancy."

" She was not willing to give up the demon. Instead, she seized upon a plan which would allow them to be together. If the kami had caused her to miscarry because a priestess should not carry the child of hanyou, then they would appease the kami. The hanyou would wish to be human. If the jewel disappeared the priestess would no longer be required to protect it. If that happened she would have no further use for her spiritual powers and they could live together openly as husband and wife. Then maybe the kami would bless their union and allow them to have children."

" The hanyou agreed. He wanted them to be together openly. In his mind they were already husband and wife. If it meant that they could be married openly and have children, then he was willing to do anything to reach that end. In the end Naraku spoiled their plans by killing them what would have been their wedding day."

"Sometimes after her resurrection, Kikyou still felt that she had sinned . One time she even asked me if I thought that Naraku had been created by the kami to punish us for what we had done. I always told her that in my mind we did nothing wrong. Naraku was simply a bastard created by the Jewel. Still she was haunted by that thought up to the end. Naraku knew of her fears and preyed upon them"

" After Kikyou ascended I got caught up in finishing off Naraku. It was only when Kagome became pregnant that my old fears reasserted themselves. I talked to Miroku and Kaede about performing this service. I had to work long and hard to obtain the funds for the statute of Jizo to mark the spot where we buried our child. I hoped that Jizo would protect the child until I was able to do so. I was also concerned about the child that Kagome is bearing. I guess I was hoping that Jizo would also protect our child .until it can be born"

With those words Inuyasha concluded his remarks. There were tears coming down the faces of Inuyasha and Kagome as they held each other tightly. Even Kaede was affected when she realized what had happened to her sister.

Amid this tearing a wondrous event occurred. A shimmering figure appeared over the statute, Gradually, it coalesced into a recognizable form. It was clear to all that the specter was Kikyou.

She smiled at Inuyasha and Kagome and held out her hands in gratitude. To their amazement another smaller light rose to greet her until it rested on her chest. She wrapped her arms around the little one and beamed at it. Gradually, the light began to take human shape.

Inuyasha began to smile and finally spoke.

" Thank you for coming, Kikyou. Take care of our child until we meet again."

Kikyou nodded. To Kagome's eyes she resembled something not unlike the Madonna and Child that she had seen in the Christian churches where she had attended weddings. Kagome realized what the child meant to Kikyou and Inuyasha. As Inuyasha held her tighter she knew that they would both cherish the child in her womb just as much. Kikyou and the child slowly began to fade. Eventually, everyone left except Miroku who seemed lost in thought.

He offered some special prayers to Jizo. It was clear to him that Jizo had protected the child all of these years from the flames of hell even without the statute being there or the mantra being chanted. He had brought the child to its mother now when she was finally able to come for him. Miroku prayed that Jizo would offer the same protection to his children and his friends children should it ever be .needed...


	28. Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Title: Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Twaddle

Universe: Post 558 canon

Word Count: 300

Rating: G

Warning: None The Wilted Rose Week

Summary: Kikyou goes to see Kagome

Boring,. All day long yadda, yadda, yadda. This was not what she signed up for when she became a guardian Inuyasha was boring these days. He sat around moping about her reincarnation. He did not need her to watch over him.

She had to stay at the shrine. Amaterasu was always watching her. One day Kikyou noticed that Amaterasu had barricaded herself in her cave again. The perfect chance to get away. She homed in on Kagome since the girl shared her soul..

Kagome was in the restroom washing her hands when suddenly the person in the mirror was a woman in a white tabi and red hakama. She screamed.

"Would you stop that? ."

"Why can't you stay dead?"

"Where's the love? "

" What do you want?"

"I'm bored. I want to have fun ."

" You will find me very boring. I go to school. My friends and I go to Wacdonalds and talk about boys. They all have one except me. I eat.. I do my homework and help out around the shrine Then I go to bed. No boyfriend. No dates. No social life.".

" Your life is as boring as mine. . I was hoping that you could brighten my day since Amaterasu was in eclipse. I probably have to get back. If you ever need to talk or need help with your homework just call me and I'll be there. After all I was the part of you that made you a top 30 student."

The face in the mirror faded until only Kagome was there. It was nice to see someone who understood what she had gone through. It was a reason to live again and at the moment that was just what she needed. .


	29. Valley Girl Kami

Title: Valley Girl

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Valley Girl

Word Count: 927

Rating: R

Pairings: Sesshoumaru/Kikyou, Inuyasha/Kagome

Warning: Rape,violence, sexual reference Wilted Rose Week 9-Altternate Universe

Summary: Kikyou helps out Kagome on her first day of school

A/N My thanks to salomesensei who inspired this piece with "Dear Diary" and our discussion of

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"

Amaterasu greeted her.

It was so awesome, thought Kikyou. Another perfect day of being the Valley Girl Kami at San Fernando Valley High. She almost floated to the school that she loved so well. Today's assignment was to brighten the day of a young Japanese girl named Highurashi Kagome who had just moved her from Tokyo. Kikyou would play the part of host for the young shrine girl anything to accommodate her to life in the Valley. She would have fit the girl in between cheerleader practice and student council meetings.

Kagome was waiting for her inside the principal's office. Kikyou was shocked at the way she dressed. She was so not cool. Seriously, she was in need of a make over. They would have to make a trip to the mall before anyone saw her dressed like a Tokyo high school student.

After a trip to Sherman Oaks Galleria. Kikyou was proud of what she had done. The girl was bitching. She was a regular Betty, fer shur. Unfortunately, upon their return the administration was not pleased by their absence. They were so not cool about it. Their attitude was so gnarly. How did they expect Kagome to show up at class wearing that uniform. As if

So they gave Kagome detention for skipping classes. Whatever. At least Kagome looked seriously hot now. Seriously, Kikyou wondered where their priorities were. As if those classes were so important. Whatever.

Kikyou took Kagome to the lunch room. When Kagome looked at the American food that was offered it was enough to barf her out. Well, duh. what does one expect from American cafeteria food. Kikyou changed the food to Tokyo fast food. For sure, it would not hurt the Americans to eat ramen. It was after all totally one of the basic food groups. .

Kikyou's magic did not have the desired result. When faced with ramen, the American began throwing the food at each other. Kikyou pleased with herself had already left the establishment.

It was only when Kagome emerged covered with ramen. that Kikyou realized her disgust at Kagome's appearance. The first words that came from her lips were " Gag me with a spoon." Kagome was grody to the max. It took a shower and borrowing Kikyou's spare outfit that returned some sunshine to the girl's face.

By that time all the classes were over and it was time for cheerleading practice. Kikyou would introduce Kagome to all of her popular friends and soon she would be That would so awesome.

Unfortunately, nothing went right at cheerleading practice. The other girls were pissed off that Kagome was allowed to join without a tryout. They kept missing her on catches allowing her to hit the floor straight on. At the end they convinced her to take the top of the pyramid. One of the girls just happened to slip toppling Kagome onto the floor head first. Kikyou had to take her outside and heal her. How could such a radical idea have gone so wrong.

Kikyou thought about to make it up to new girl. She came up with such an tripendicular she was down, she always got better after a date. That Inuyasha he was such a Baldwin. He owed her a favor. Seriously, this would perk up Kagome's day.

The Taisho brothers were in the parking lot polishing their Harleys. They looked so hot in their leathers. When Kikyou looked at Sesshoumaru all she could think that she had died and gone to heaven. His brother was perfect for Kagome.

Inuyasha was agreeable to going on a date with Kagome. Sesshoumaru gave him a knowing wink as put his arm around the Valley Girl Kami and led her away. Before they had left the parking lot Inuyasha had Kagome spreadeagled over the back of his hog squealing like a stuck pig.

All Kikyou could think about was how totally hot Sesshoumaru was. There were stars in her eyes as they arrived at the local motel. She did not notice that they rented rooms by the hour. All she could think was OMG OMG OMG as he took her again and again.

When he left the room, she basked in the after glow. The day had been so tubular. She had helped Kagome in so many ways. Learning how to shop and what to wear. Providing her with edible food. Making new friends for her. Finding her a best thing that happened was that Sesshoumaru had made her a women. Surely, he would let her wear his letter jacket or wear his class ring. In her mind she was already picking out china patterns.

Just then the manager banged on the door.

"Hey lady, you want to get a move on. Your hour is up We got other customers waiting to use the room. And by the way, your buddy's credit card was not accepted. If you do not make it good

we will have to call the police."

Somehow she would have to explain the charges to Amaterasu. She was not going to let anything ruin what been a totally radical day of being Kikyou. Valley Girl Kami.

Addendum: From Wikipedia Article on "Valley Girl" in Italics

_Main article: Valspeak_

_A certain sociolect associated with Valley Girls, referred to as "Valspeak," became common across the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, and much entered teenage slang throughout the country._

_Qualifiers such as "like", "way", "as if!", "totally" and "duh" were interjected in the middle of phrases and sentences as emphasizers. Narrative sentences were often spoken as though they were questions (high rising terminal)._

_Examples:_

_* As if – lit. "as if" except it does not use a subject; expresses disbelief._

_* Bitchin' - adj. slang for excellent; first-rate._

_* Whatever! - short for "whatever you say"; sarcastic comeback._

_* Barf me out! - "So disgusting it makes me want to vomit."_

_* Fer shur – lit. "For sure"_

_* Betch – lit. "Bitch"_

_* Totally – "I agree" or "completely."_

_* Tubular – Excellent, perfect, as in a (surfable) wave that forms a tube._

_* Grody to the max! – "As gross as he/she/it can be."_

_* Like, oh my God – can be used many ways; expresses shock (OMG for short)._

_* I'm suuure! or I'm so sure – "I'm absolutely positive," but usually used sarcastically._

_* Tre - A synonym for "very" (derived from French "très")_

_* Tripendicular! - It can mean either "awesome" or a drug high._

_* Totally Radical, Dude! – "That is incredible, man."_

_* Betty - An attractive woman._

_* Gnarly - Off the hook, totally extreme - good or bad._

_* So - Very; used too often and said with too much emphasis. "He's so not cute!"_

_* Baldwin - An attractive man._

_* Seriously - Frequent interjection of approval._

_* Gag me with a spoon! - expression of disgust._

_* "That's Hot" - Sexy, Cool, Stylish_


	30. Stairway to Heaven

Title: Stairway to Heaven

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Genre: Favorite Song

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyou

Prompt: Stairway to Heaven Week 11

Word Count: 938 including song lyrics in bold

Universe: Canon

Warning: None

Summary: Inuyasha contemplates what he is willing to sacrifice for Kikyou's happiness on the night before their union.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha et al and Stairway to Heaven belong to the persons who own or have the right to use them. I do not profit from their use or this songfic.

Inuyasha sat in his tree and wondered. What would it be like to always be human Now he endured it in terror every new moon. Humans hated and feared him. He had not gotten along with humans since his mother died. He was isolated and alone. It was only when he met Kikyou and felt her loneliness that he had even thought about anyone other that himself.

**There's a lady whose sure**

**All that glitters is gold**

**And she's buying a stairway to heaven.**

**When she gets there she knows**

**If the stores are all closed**

**With a word she can get what she came for.**

**Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.**

Tomorrow if his wish was granted, he would be a man. It was not his hope . It was not his dream. It was Kikyou's hope and dream She dreamed of being human. Of being able to live like a ordinary woman..

His dream had been one of power. To be a youkai like his bastard brother. Instead of being the hunted, to be hunter. To be predator instead of prey. Fighting had never bothered him. It was part of his nature. But she had asked him to stop fighting because she wanted to stop fighting.

And so she asked him to give up his claws and his fangs so that she could find peace. She asked him to change his nature so that she would not have to protect the Shikon no Tama anymore

**There's a sign on the wall**

**But she wants to be sure**

**cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.**

**In a tree by the brook**

**Theres a songbird who sings,**

**Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.**

**Ooh, it makes me wonder,**

**Ooh, it makes me wonder.**

He sympathized with her plight When he first met her, she reeked of the blood of youkai. He had only fought against youkai in self-defense. She fought to protect the Sacred Jewel. He attracted youkai who thought him easy prey as hanyou. Youkai were attracted to the sacredjewel in their quest for power.

Both of them would be surrendering their powers if Kikyou's plan succeeded. He would be become a weak mortal without the power and lifespan he had been accustomed to as a hanyou. She would give up her miko powers and become an ordinary woman.

**There's a feeling I get**

**When I look to the west,**

**And my spirit is crying for leaving.**

**In my thoughts I have seen**

**Rings of smoke through the trees,**

**And the voices of those who standing looking.**

**Ooh, it makes me wonder,**

**Ooh, it really makes me wonder.**

She said that could live together as husband and wife if they both became human. He had never even dreamed of marrying or having children. No youkai or human would have ever considered being the bride of hanyou much less have children with them.

It was all about Kikyou. She was the woman he loved. When she looked at him with those eyes pleading for release he could deny her nothing.

.**And its whispered that soon**

**If we all call the tune**

**Then the piper will lead us to reason.**

**And a new day will dawn**

**For those who stand long**

**And the forests will echo with laughter.**

He knew what it was like to be alone and unwanted. He knew what it was like to be denied love, marriage and children. He knew what it was like to completely separate from humanity.

How could he deny her what she wanted when he knew how she felt. The burden of guilt he carried was enormous. What better way to relief himself of his burden than by granting her wishes

**If theres a bustle in your hedgerow**

**Dont be alarmed now,**

**Its just a spring clean for the may queen.**

**Yes, there are two paths you can go by**

**But in the long run**

**Theres still time to change the road youre on.**

**And it makes me wonder.**

At least as her husband he would no longer be alone. For the first time since his mother died someone would love him. He might grow to love carrying for his wife and children.

In the end he was willing to do whatever she wanted in order to make her happy even it meant giving his immortality and the rest of what made him unique. If she was happy maybe he could also be happy.

**Your head is humming and it wont go**

**In case you dont know,**

**The pipers calling you to join him,**

**Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow,**

**And did you know**

**Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.**

And so Inuyasha went to sleep that night content in the thought tomorrow would bring Kikyou's happiness no matter the cost to himself. Only she mattered at this point. He was so desperate that he would pay any price to buy happiness for the woman he loved. If she said that this was the stairway to heaven, he would climb it with her step by step until she reached her goal and found the heaven that she so desired.

**And as we wind on down the road**

**Our shadows taller than our soul.**

**There walks a lady we all know**

**Who shines white light and wants to show**

**How evrything still turns to gold.**

**And if you listen very hard**

**The tune will come to you at last.**

**When all are one and one is all**

**To be a rock and not to roll.**

**And shes buying a stairway to heaven.**


	31. A Disturbance in the Force

Title: A Disturbance in the Force

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Determined Magical Objects.

Word Count: 279

Pairings: reference to Inuyasha/Kikyou; Inuyasha/Kagome Naraku/Kikyou

Prompt: Disturbance The Wilted Rose Week 10/Disturbance

Warning: None

Universe: Canon

Summary: You can't keep a good jewel down.

No mere priestess can defeat me simply by killing herself. After all I was created by a soul of priestess who now battles the most powerful youkai every known within me. I am their master.

I created Naraku, the Avatar of Hell from the ruler of Naraka so that the jewel would tainted. All the woman had to do was wish for life and Naraku's desire to taint the jewel would have succeeded.

Kikyou thought that she could escape me by dying and taking me with her to hell. I am the master here. She died because I granted her wish to end the fighting.

But even in hell, where the bodies are stacked like cordwood and them mortals receive the treatment that their karma requires, her soul cries out for her lost love, Inuyasha. It is her lingering affection for the hanyou that is her weakness

I have foreseen that she is destined to be reborn as Higurashi Kagome. When she is, I will be reborn with her ready to grant to wish to bring her back to Inuyasha.

It is only the Sengoku Jidai that I can do my work. She will always be drawn to Inuyasha. With Naraku's help I can take advantage of this affection. Because she is Kikyou reborn Naraku cannot help but be drawn to her. He will be essential to the task of bringing within myself.

Then she will take Midoriko's place inside of me to fight the demons for eternity. And they say that there is no justice in the world. I will have my revenge for her condemning me to hell with her. She and I will share eternity together.


	32. Roses in the Snow

Title: Roses in the Snow

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: longing for love.

Rating: G

Word Count:508

Prompt: Snow. The Wilted Rose

Universe: Anime The Tragic Love Song of Destiny. 147-148

Warning: None

Summary: Inuyasha asks why he follows Kikyou

A/N This story was inspired by knittingknots picture title "Roses in the Snow" . It is also a country song which Hank Snow and Emmy Lou Harris have sung, but those songs have a different theme.

He followed her even though he did not know why. Since that day when she had asked him to talk to her he had not left her side when she was not in the village..

Originally, all he had wanted from her was the jewel, but it played no part in his thoughts of her now. Shet made him feel guilty about wronging her. It was her that made him think about someone other than himself for the first time since his mother died.

It had been so long since he had talked to another being. So long since he had shared anything with anyone. He had began to think that it was his lot in life to forever alone. Never to love, never to laugh, never to cry.

The Shikon no Tama had given him hope. Maybe if he was a youkai like his brother he would be accepted by them. He would no longer have to fight for his life against all who wanted the hanyou dead.

Instead, it had brought him face to face with Kikyou. Both of them had sensed how wounded and alone the other was. That is why neither could kill the other. They were partners in misery. Something they could share. And so they treasured their time together.

Today they were marching to some godforsaken village in Hokaido to exterminate youkai. He had been surprised when she had asked to do so. She had seemed more surprised when he accepted her offer.

They hardly spoke to each other during their travels. Yet he knew that just being with her and assisting her made him feel alive again. Like there was something more to life than simply surviving. Someone to live for. Someone to protect.

He had no hope that she would ever love him. Youkai were her enemy. He stood for every evil that she had ever fought against. Her vows forbade her from loving a man much less a hanyou. She was denied even feelings of love. And yet he knew that she felt something for him.

It was that something that drew her to him. The something that made him want to follow her everywhere. The something that made him think about someone other than himself.

Others could not see what he saw. To them she was just a miko. She was the miko who protected the jewel. The miko who brought youkai to the village. The miko who cared for the sick and wounded.. The miko who cared for their children. The miko who interceded for the kami for them.

Inuyasha saw her differently. She was like roses in the snow to him. To the villagers she was just. a miko to him, she was so much more. He could see the beauty which was buried underneath her burden of duty. Someday the snow would melt and like the roses she would bloom.

And so he followed her in hopes on that day he would be with her to smell her fragrance, to gaze on her beauty, and care for her forever..


	33. Second Chances

Title: Second Chances

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Word Count: 497

Prompt: Kikyou drabble for doggieearlover.

Universe: Canon

Warning: Chapter 494

Summary: Inuyasha finishes telling Kaede about Kikyou's death and prepares to go see Kagome

It was like a burden had finally been lifted from my shoulders. Telling Kaede what had happened was catharsis. When I finished my story I was free. Telling Kaede was so much different from last time. We were in her hut not by Kikyou's grave.

The mood was not somber , it was one of relief. Kikyou had finally been released from her suffering. Kaede and I no longer had to bear her pain. We were free to go on with our lives.

Kikyou had died happy. She got to be what she always wanted : an ordinary woman. even if it was only for a short time. Kaede says that she ascended. All I saw was her soul collector's bearing her soul to heaven.

Kikyou got a second chance. Kagome saved her soul. Instead of having to roam the earth as revenant or burn in hell she has moved to the next plane of existence where she has promised to watch over us.

Kagome was able to overcome her hatred and jealousy of Kikyou and risk her life to save her. It was this act that saved Kikyou's soul.

Kagome will never realize how grateful Kikyou was for her actions. For my part I had no doubt that Kagome would complete her task at Mount Azusa and save Kikyou.

Though Kagome admitted that she had some difficulties overcoming her own feelings about Kikyou, I reminded her that she saved Kikyou even with those reservations. There was no reason to feel guilty about having those feelings about Kikyou.

Kagome gave me a second chance too. Kikyou's death had hit me hard. Kouga was right when he told Kagome that Kikyou had taken my soul with her.

But Kagome would not let me go. Although Kaou offered me the chance to go to Kikyou, Kagome risked her own life to prevent my own grief from killing me.

Kikyou has her second chance. She is no longer my burden or responsibility. Where she has gone no one will hurt her any longer.

I am free to love Kagome. Kikyou released me by telling me that it was enough that I came for her. Kikyou is not between us any longer.

That is what I was trying to tell Kagome when I finally released all of the grief that I had been keeping to myself since Kikyou died. To me she seemed like a rock, standing up to the grief.

When I asked how she could be so strong, always thinking of others, she became angry. She was not being strong just kind.

The time for kindness and consideration of the feelings of others is over. Kikyou has given me a second chance to find love with Kagome. I need to go to her and tell her how I feel about her.

Kagome gave both Kikyou and I second chances. Kikyou has gone to her reward. The time has come for me to take a chance on love with Kagome.


	34. Purification

Title: Purification

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Genre: out out damn spot

Word Count:325

Universe: Canon

Prompt: Kikyou drabble for LuxKen 27

Warning: blood Spoiler for Anime Episode 147

Summary: Kikyou tries to purify herself

She stood underneath the waterfall lost in thought.. Lately, she spent more time purifying herself than she did the jewel.

She thought she had found her mission in life. Purifying and protecting the Sacred Jewel was one of the highest goals that the kami could have placed in anyone's hands.

It changed when the hanyou came into her life. His life paralleled her own. He wanted the jewel not for power, but to be a full youkai instead of half-youkai and half human. Just like her he was alone.

In some ways she envied him. When she first met him he was human. More human than she was. At least he was human one night a month whereas she was never allowed to human.

It was because of his humanity that she could not bring herself to kill him even she easily overpowered. He was not like any of the many youkai who came for the jewel.

He did not take advantage of her weakness the first night they met to kill her where any other human or youkai would have done so. When she asked him about it all he would say was that he believed in fighting fairly.

His remark at their last battle that he could always track her by the bloody demon smell on her had given her pause. She had never noticed the blood or the smell.

Now she could hardly stand herself She spent all of her time when she was not fighting trying to wash the blood off her hands.

In her non stop battle with the youaki who sought the jewel she had become a killer. Little more than animals like they were. She walked a path stained with blood. It was herself and this path that she sought to purify.

In the end it was all for nought. The youkai would simply keep coming. It was only a matter of time before she became exhausted from the non-stop fighting.

She had once been a pure priestess who served the kami. Now she was an animal drowning alone in a sea of blood and all of the water in the world would not purify her.


	35. She Gathers Rain

Title: She Gathers Rain

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Soul sucking revenants

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyou

Word Count:728 including song lyrics in bold

Song: She Gathers Rain by Collective Soul

Prompt: Free Inusongfics Week 12

Warning: Dead girls used to give power to a dead woman

Summary: Kikyou plots to kill Inuyasha

Disclaimer: Don't own or profit from Inuyasha or She Gathers Rain. They belong to their owner and users.

The village made her nostalgic for her youth before the Jewel came to here. Playing with the children, healing the sick, gathering the herbs all of the crafts of a miko The miko she was once before death came for her. Before love and betrayal Before the endless battle to protect the Jewel. She longed for those days. But they would never come again. The dead are not allowed the friendship of children. Their simple love that made her smile could never be hers.

**Today she dresses**

**For the change she's facing now**

**And the storm that's raging**

**A safe haven she has found**

For though she had been resurrected she was not whole. She was a pale facsimile of the woman she once was. Most of her soul had been reclaimed by her reincarnation. Most of her body was made of clay stitched together with her bones and gravesoul. Her skin and her face might appear to be human, but she could not feel. The children had touched her hands but their warmth could not touch her. She could not even cry. All she had left was her voice and her miko powers. .

**She doesn't care**

**What the prohpets say anymore**

**For the love she had**

**She has no more**

**But she had foun**d a purpose. A purpose for remaining in this world. The man she had loved, The man for whom she had given her life had somehow escaped the spell she had woven with her last breath. She had hoped never to see him again. The parting had been so painful. The love and sorrow she felt as she tried to hug him as he hung from the tree had been excrutiating. And there he was alive while she was dead. Denying that he had killed her.. Denying that he had betrayed her. Telling her that he loved her and had wanted to become human for her.

**So she gathers rain**

**She gathers rain**

**To rinse away all her guilt and pain**

**She gathers rain**

**She gathers rain**

**To wash and cleanse and make her whole again**

He had to die. The pain and suffering she felt would never be healed while he walked the earth. His life mocked everything she thought that she had wanted in their relationship. If only he would die with her. Then they could be together again. They could start over. She would be whole again. They never need part again.

And so she began to gather her strength. Her soul stealers brought the souls of the young girls. They would serve their purpose. They would give her the strength to kill her lover to bring him to hell with her. When she was done she would release them on their journey. For now she needed them for her fight with her love.

**Her imagination**

**Has started stretching wide**

**And her new conviction**

**No longer will she hide**

**She's not branded**

Once she was a pure miko. But she has been through the fire. Death has tainted her. She longs for revenge. She longs for peace. Only by gaining revenge against the lover who betrayed can she obtain the peace that she longed for in death. Until that time she would walk the night. A creature of darkness who preyed upon the souls of the young girls. She knew their sorrow . She could feel their pain and yet her need was so great that she greedily swallowed every bit of their essence.

**When prophets speak words of fire**

**The same love she gives**

**She requires**

**So she gathers rain**

**She gathers rain**

The bait was set. She knew that Inuyasha would come. How could he resist once he knew it was she who was stealing the souls of the young women. When he came, he would die. Then she would finally be free of the hate.. She would finally be free of the love. At last she return to her slumbers which had been interrupted by his voice calling her soul from her reincarnations only to come face to face with the man she hated. The man she loved. The man she never wanted to see again. The man with whom she wanted to spend eternity.

**To rinse away all her guilt and pain**

**She gathers rain**

**She gathers rain**

**To wash and cleanse and make her whole again**


	36. Into Every Life Some Rain Must Fall

Title Into Every Life Some Rain Must Fall

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Universe: Canon

Prompt: Rain The Wilted Rose Week 12

Word Count 297

Warning: Spoiler for Anime Episode 147

Summary: Both Inuyasha and Kikyou consider their first meeting to lucky

A/N " Into every life some rain must fall." is a line from the poem "The Rainy Day by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

He had not intended to meet her. It was his human night. He just needed some place to hide until morning. But she had noticed him as he changed. He had no protection against her.

She had been surprised when she noticed him. His aura was weak, but immistakeably had just destroyed a number of powerful mononoke. It had taken all of her strength.

Still she blustered at him telling him that if he sought the jewel he would die just as the mononoke had. One must never show weakness with youkai..

She fell face first into the mud. She had nothing left. The rain was pelting down as Inuyasha gazed down at her. Although she was covered with mud and blood, he could feel her power.

He could not believe his luck. A powerful miko had caught him on his human night and not killed him. He had learned a valuable secret. The Shikon no Tama could make him the youkai that he had always desired. This woman had it.

He did not think to attack her in current condition. His human heart instilled a sense of fair play in him which a youkai would not feel. When he heard the villagers calling for her and saw the torches he ran as fast as human legs could carry him.

When Kikyou roused, she wondered at her luck. His behavior was contrary to any youkai she had met. She put it down to luck and prayed to the kami of luck who had watched over her.

Both of them went away from their first meeting feeling lucky that they were still alive. Their belief in their luck made them forget that a miko and a hanyou are never allowed to show weakness. . .

.


	37. The Persistence of Vision

Title: The Persistence of Vision

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Universe: Canon

Word Count: 250

Prompt: Dogged Issekiwa Week 68

Warning Character Death Spoiler for Chapters 463-464

Summary: Kikyou reflects on the vision which led to her death

She had followed her vision. It had always been true to her. Truer than love. Truer than happiness. Truer than life.

It was this vision that had led her to this point. In her mind's eye she saw only one outcome. . A single point of light which would purify Naraku and the Jewel.

The vision had sent her on her strange crusade to purify the soul of the dark hanyou whom no sword could slay. Her crusade had caused all of the others to hate her. Even her beloved Inuyasha fought against her.

That others might not see what she saw did not bother her. She had always been alone Trusting in her own strength. It had always been enough.

But now her strength had failed her. She required Kagome's help to purify herself and the Jewel Her last shot had been true. All of her power poured into it. She had nothing left to give.

Now she could only watch as light faded to a single point. Naraku might mock her, but she knew that she would win in the end so long as part of herself remained in the Jewel purifying it and him.

She could no longer see the light. In her mind it was still there, a beacon of hope.. She had followed her vision to its end. It was time for her to go.

Although she would not personally participate in Naraku's demise, she would still be there, a light shining in the darkness.


	38. Dead Memories

Title: Dead Memories

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Word Count:456

Genre: The bond between them

Prompt: Memories The Wilted Rose Week13

Universe: Canon

Pairing Inyasha/Kikyou Inuyasha/Kagome

Warning: Spoiler for Chapters 454-455

Summary: Kagome is ensnared by Naraku

Kagome was caught in the web of dead memories. Naraku has spun it well. It was for this very purpose that he had taken back his human heart For a only a human heart could feel love, feel sadness, feel jealous.

She had heard the story of Inuyasha and Kikyou. She thought she understood the bond between them. When she come back through the well she told herself that she would stay by Inuyasha's side even though she knew that the bond between Kikyou and Inuyasha could never be broken.

But now she could see and feel the pain and emotions of Kikyou and Inuyasha. She could see the arrow in its flight to Inuyasha's chest. The look of surprise, of disappointment, then at last the look of acceptance as he fell into the sleep of death.

As she gazed at Inuyasha she could feel the horrible searing pain in Kikyou's chest and shoulder. The wound that she bore was in the same place as the one she had received at Mt. Hakurei.

She could tell that Kikyou was dying . Yet Kikyou was moving toward the tree until she could almost touch Inuyasha. Kagome somehow knew that Kikyou wanted to reach and hug Inuyasha as he hung limp and lifeless from her arrow. But her strength failed her and she sank to her knees.

The emotion that Kagome could emanating from Kikyou was not hate. It was sadness that they would never be together in this life. Kagome was struck by overwhelming feeling of deep love.

She knew that this was the bond between Kikyou and Inuyasha which she could not break. It was a bond of pain, sadness, love and death. She was struck by a feeling of overwhelming hopelessness.

When the vision ended the threads were gone. But they had left an overwhelming imprint on her heart. She felt dirtier than she ever had in her life. The heart that she had kept pure had been tainted.

The hateful jealousy which Baby had tried to urge upon she had rejected because every human feels jealous. But seeing Inuyasha die from the arrow and feeling the love that Kikyou felt had filled her with a jealousy which she could not contain. At that moment she hated Kikyou's eternal love. She could not even bear to look at Inuyasha.

Somewhere Naraku was smiling. His web had caught all three of them. Kikyou would die of her wounds and Kagome's purity had been lost. He no longer feared being purified with the Jewel.

Victory would be his at last.

Kagome should have known better than to peek at the memories of the dead. Now the bond that been between Kikyou and Inuyasha had become a shackle to her soul.


	39. Moonlight Serenade

Title: Moonlight Serenade

Author: landofthekwt

Genre: Kikyou's Pets

Rating: PG-13

Universe: Canon

Word Count: 300

Prompt: Moonlight The Wilted Rose Week 14

Warning: None

Summary: Soul Collectors gotta love 'em

They danced and swirled in the moonlight. The tree was alive with glowing lights as the souls hung from the branches like so much ripe fruit. They glided around the tree in intricate patterns known only to them until their mistress crooked her finger at one of them.

The grateful serpent would then swoop down the priestess and deposit its life giving cargo, If they were lucky she would tickle them under the chin or whisper sweet words of thanks. Some times she lay back in the tree with eyes closed and simply absorbed the soul into herself.

It made no difference to the soul collectors. They lived to serve. Their only thoughts were about the health of Kikyou which could only be maintained if she was constantly supplied with the life giving nourishment which they were more than eager to provide. They knew that her life depended upon them.

Others found them hideous, these eel like demons of the air. To Kikyou they were the pets she never had. She could confide anything to them. Since she had never had a friend a companion would have to do. They were her aerial transportation, her guardians and defenders.

They would attack whom she wished without regard to their survival. They would go where she went even if it meant their death. They had been the first creatures she befriended after she was resurrected and they would the creatures who bear her soul to heaven.

Tonight they snaked around the tree bathing it in light so bright it woke the dead. She gazed up and smiled at them. It would so appropriate for one was dead to served by demons who collected the souls of the dead. It reminded her of what she was and what had been taken from her.


	40. Just a Dream

Title: Just a Dream

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Universe: Canon

Prompt: Dreams; The Wilted Rose Week 15

Word Count :297

Genre: Self pity

Warning: None

Summary: Inuyasha relives his nightmare.

The dream had persisted every night since he had been revived. He was running through his forest with the Jewel. Kikyou would appear bleeding from wounds to her head and a vicious cut that extended from her shoulder to her stomach. Somehow she would always find the strength to fire her arrow while screaming " Die Inuyasha" and then stagger toward the tree.

No matter how many times she shot him, he always seemed surprised that she would shoot him. Somehow part of him could not believe that she would actually shoot him. The part of him that believed that she loved him and would never betray him. He thought that if he became human that they could live together as husband and wife. He would never be alone again.

But it was just a bad dream. No wife. No Kikyou. Just a recurring nightmare. He thought that he would have peace. He and Kikyou could have been happy together. Instead, they had died together. Maybe he was just meant to be alone. Maybe he was not meant to be happy. He wanted desperately to forget Kikyou and move on with his life.

Instead, he was forced to search for the Jewel with a girl who smelled like Kikyou and looked like Kikyou. He had known Kikyou. This girl was no Kikyou. Kaede persisted in her belief that this girl was the reincarnation of Kikyou. Inuyasha saw no evidence that she was. She was just a constant reminder of what he had lost and what he could never have.

The nightmare had one good effect. By forcing him to relieve his death every night, he could see in graphic terms what would happen if he let his guard down and allowed himself to love someone else again.


	41. The Mask of the Miko

Title: The Mask of the Miko

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Universe: Canon

Word Count:250

Prompt: Mask Inuyasha Fanfic Week 180

Genre: Another Brick in the Wall

Warning:None

Summary: Kikyou reflects

Her master once told her that the mask of the miko was her strength. With her mask securely in place she could be all things to all people. To youkai she would always be strong. To the children she would always be the kind person who taught games, picked flowers with them and kept them entertained. To the wounded she was angel of mercy. To her enemies she would always be the arrogant angel of death. To Naraku she would always be his weakness. To Inuyasha she would always be the first woman he loved. They were all trapped by the mask. It made them see a woman who was no longer there.

Her master never warned her that the longer she wore the mask the more difficult it became to remember who she really was. The mask defined her. She was afraid that if she took off the mask that there would nothing there. She had dreamed that Inuyasha would allow her to take off her mask so that she could become an ordinary woman. Now she was not sure who Kikyou really was underneath the mask. She assumed that since she was dead she was free to love and hate. Now she was not sure. If only she could love or hate or laugh or cry and know that the emotions were her own.

She cursed her master for placing the mask which she could never remove. It took away her humanity and left her an empty shell.


	42. Passing the Torch

Title: Passing the Torch

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Universe: Canon

Pairing: Kikyou/Kagome (Sensei/Grasshopper)

Genre: Great death scenes

Word Count:222

Warning: Spoiler for Chapter 464

Summary: Kikyou passes her duties as Protector of the Sacred Jewel to Kagome

She had been so enthralled by the battle between light and dark in the jewel that she had failed to notice that Kikyou was dying. That knowledge chilled her to the core. Panic began to set in.

"You said that if I retrieved the bow you would be saved. The arrow should have purified the miasma How can you be dying?"

"Kagome, by going to Mt. Azusa for me and shooting the purifying arrow into me you saved my soul. You allowed me to complete my mission by placing the pure jewel inside of Naraku. "

"What will we do now?"

"Only you can carry on my mission. You must protect Kohaku's light and the final shard.".

How will be we able to go on without you?"

"My mission is done. My time on earth is over. The rest is up to you. Only you can purify the jewel. Only you can destroy Naraku."

Kagome stared at the dying woman. The darkness was overtaking the light in the jewel. It seemed as if all hope was lost. She tried to think of some straw that she could offer Kikyou to hold onto life for a little longer.

"But what about Inuyasha?"

Kikyou actually smiled at the question.

"Don't be silly, Kagome, Inuyasha was always yours."


	43. Pearls Before Swine

Title: Pearls before Swine

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Genre: Introspection

Word Count: 299

Prompt: Gift (The Wilted Rose Week16)

Universe: Canon

Warning: None

Summary: Naraku wonders about Kikyou's gift of the Jewel.

Naraku stared at the Jewel in his hand. He could not deny that he wanted it. Lately, he had been frustrated with his attempts to get the Jewel. Now it was within his grasp.

Yet something gave him pause . First, Kikyou had given his new body when she could have stopped the spell. Then, after obtaining the Jewel and penetrating his fortress she had blithely tossed the Jewel at his feet

What could she be thinking? She had guarded the Jewel so fervently in her past life. He had killed her for it. She had burned in the fire to remove it from this world. Now she laid it aside as if it were nothing.

This act confused, delighted and infuriated him at same time. The Jewel was something Onigumo had given his soul for the Jewel. Naraku had been created to taint the Jewel . To have it thrown at his feet as if it were refuse mocked his very being.

He did not trust her. No one gave away power. He knew her. There must be some reason for her to discard it. What that reason was escaped him for the moment, but he would remain vigilant. Kikyou must be constantly watched from now on.

Her mocking voice echoed in his ears. She was cold and self-assured. Pointing out his every weakness. Granting him power when she could have denied him. And then walking away from him without fear. Even telling him where he could find her.

The anger burned inside of him. He would no longer be the hanyou she had derided. She must never be allowed to laugh at him again .He would take the power which she had given him and turn her gift against her. Her pride would be her doom.


	44. Hillside Companions

Title: Hillside Companions

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: G

Word Count:817

Prompt: kmoaton (Inu/Kik pre Naraku happy)

Universe Canon

Warning: None

Summary: Inuyasha and Kikyou ask questions about their relationship

A/N A giftfic for Kmoaton celebrating 1 year at ffnet and 200 stories

When she arrived he was there as he always was lounging in that tree which afforded him a view of the entire hilltop and that valley below. From this vantage point he looked so relaxed. It was no wonder that Tsubaki had referred to him to him as "that worthless hanyou" Some months ago she might have thought so too. But things had changed between them. Even Tsubaki had noticed.

She wondered whether she should sit down in the meadow as she usually did or walk up to his tree. Better to stick to the script that they had established for their meetings. She sat down in the grass carefully arranging her hakama. Her bow was laid at her side. Others might think it strange that she would expose her back to him, but she knew that he would never attack her in that manner.

After a few minutes he joined her on the grass. She turned to acknowledge his presence. He crouched in a manner not unlike a large dog sitting back on his haunches. She stifled a giggle. It bothered him to be seen as an animal. Although everyone else in the village saw him as a monster, she had never seen that way. To her he was another lonely traveler. He was the only one who could possibly understand how alone she felt because he was as totally isolated from humanity as she was.

" You're late."

"I was detained by one of my fellow priestesses."

He gaged her answer for truthfulness. She smelled of cherry blossoms and snakes. Sometime recently she had used a very powerful magic. The aura still remained on her bow. He was unsure how to proceed. Delicate conversation was an art that he had lost when his mother died. Few humans talked to him. Most oni simply yelled , "Die hanyou." before they themselves died.

" It would seem that you were victorious seeing that you are still alive. Why did she bother you?"

" She seemed to think that my relation with you made me weak and made me unqualified to guard the Jewel."

" Why would our relationship make you weak?"

" Mikos are supposed to lose their powers as they fall in love with a man. This particular miko cursed me some time ago telling me that I would die if I ever fell in love with a man."

"Why would she think that we are in love? We have never kissed or touched each other."

" How would you describe us, Inuyasha? Are we friends, companions or persons who simply meet everyday in the same meadow to talk."

Inuyasha had not expected this sudden turn of the conversation. He had come to view their daily meetings as natural. Being with her was now part of his daily routine. Today he had come an hour early and simply surveyed the hillside for her until she arrived.

He knew that he did not want to harm her. Everywhere she went outside the village he was her shadow. If she played with the children, he was her lookout. If she stalked youkai he was there watching her back.

He had told himself that he was there to prevent any other youkai from seizing the Jewel Was this the truth or simply a cover for deeper activities. The idea that she might be injured by youkai had began to affect him.

He had began patrolling his forest at night for evidence of youkai approaching her village. Once he had not cared whether or not the youkai attacked the village so long as they did not attack him.

Somewhere along the line she had entered his field of protection. He could not imagine allowing a youkai to hurt her. It was not because she was the Jewel guardian. He had long ceased to attack her to seize the Jewel.

It was not because she was human that he wished to protect her. Only she and her sister fell into this circle of protection. Something about her made him want to protect her and to be with her.

"Inuyasha, are you still there. Are you going to answer my question?"

Inuyasha looked at her blankly. Her question had so ensnared him that he had forgotten about her. He scrambled to his feet.

" I have never had a friend before or a companion. You are first person that made me think of someone other than myself. You are the first person who has been willing to sit down and talk with me since my mother. Only you treat me as if I was human instead of a monster. I come here every day because I want to be with you. If we ceased to meet, I do not know what I would do."

Kikyou looked up him and smiled.

" I like being here with you, too, Inuyasha..".


	45. The Taste of Honey

Title: The Taste of Honey

Author: landofthekwt

Rating : G

Word Count: 504

Prompt: Rejection(Wilted Rose Week 17)

Genre: Kiss offs

Warning: Spoiler for Chapter 173

Summary: Kikyou laces her rejection of Inuyasha's offer of protection with honey.

Her soul collectors had reenergized her false body. She was now back at full strength. The time had come to depart. She was grateful that Inuyasha for saving her from the giant soul collector. If not for him, she would have met her end alone. She was even touched by his claim that her life belonged to him. The bond between them was still strong.

But now it was time to move on. She had already devised a plan for protecting herself from Naraku. Once she was covered with the dirt from Onigumo's cave, neither Naraku nor his incarnations could touch her. Naraku was still bound by the lust which Onigumo had for her and would not be able to harm her once the soil shield was properly applied. With this protection she could waltz into Naraku's castle with impunity. She did not need or want Inuyasha's protection.

Her fight was her own. She had been guardian of the Jewel of Four Souls. Once Naraku had all of the pieces of the Jewel she could send him to hell. Nothing Inuyasha did would make any difference. She could not even protect Inuyasha from Naraku. It would up to him to survive.

She may love him, but her love for him had cost her life once. This time she would proceed on her own without Inuyasha's help. She had been on her own before she met Inuyasha. Now she would face Naraku without fear of reprisal. She would never be so weak that she would need Inuyasha's help again.

She started to leave. A curt dismissal to send him off to his friends before she proceeded on her mission was all he got. She wondered if she had been too harsh. He seemed dumbfounded by her rejection of his offer of protection. The idea that she was going to Naraku's castle without him had made him fear for her safety.

Of all the topics she had raised. Naraku's love for her had raised the most concern in his eyes. It would do to have his jealousy of Narkau cause him to follow her. She needed to be bold. Having a puppy trailing along behind her would prevent her from taking the action she intended to take to place fear in Narkau's heart.

Just before leaving she decided to lace her rejection of his protection with honey. Embracing him, she promised him that no other man but him would ever touch a hair of her head. He ate it up. She was able to leave without any more protestations on his part. He was happy with the sop she had thrown him. She would be able to proceed with her plan without any further interference from her.

Men were simply so easy to manipulate. Both Inuyasha and Naraku could be controlled by their love for her. With a hug and a promise Inuyasha let her go to Naraku's castle by herself. She would not need Inuyasha's protection because Onigumo's love for her would protect from Naraku. She need never fear him again.


	46. Dying For Our Sins

Title: Dying for Our Sins

Author: landofthkwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Tree ( Inuyasha Themes Week1)

Word Count:200

Universe: Canon

Genre: Christ figures

Warning: Character Deaths

Summary: Kikyou repents her actions.

The thick red liquid covered her hands. He looks so peaceful, so innocent hanging from her arrow. Her arrow had killed him. Her arrow was now embedded in the God Tree.

How could she have been so blind? It was his blood that was on her hands. She could never wash it away. She had sinned against him and the kami. His body mocked her. It proclaimed her guilt.

It had been her idea to use the Shikon no Tama to turn him human. Her idea to rid herself of the duties as Protector of the Sacred Jewel. Her idea to live together as man and wife. As a result of her ideas he had died.

He would not be dead now if not for her. She could not live without him. That truth was abundantly clear. If she could not live with him, she could still follow after him in death.

She must atone for her sins. All she had to offer was her life. Only by burning the Sacred Jewel with her body could she prevent anyone from using it for evil purposes.

She could only hope that Inuyasha could forgive her for what she had done.


	47. As Tears Go By

Title: As Tears Go By

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Soul sucking vampires

Word Count: 667 including song lyrics

Prompt: Tear (InuSongFics Week 18)

Song: As Tears Go By by Marianne Faithful

Universe: Canon

Warning: Soul sucking vampires

Summary: Kikyou reconciles herself to the fact that she will never know the love of children

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Inuyasha or "As Tears Go By" They belong to their owners and rightful users.

She waved merrily to the children returning to their families and sighed. Memories of long ago came to her unbidden. Memories of other children. Flower hunts in other meadows. Collecting leaves in the fall. Playing games with them. Their smiling faces gazing eagerly at her. She wanted it so badly. Wanted their love. Wanted their trust. Wanted their enthusiasm.

**It is the evening of the day,**

**I sit and watch the children play.**

**Smiling faces I can see**

**But not for me,**

**I sit and watch as tears go by.**

But those were just memories of another time. Other children long since dust. Just as those children had belonged to others, so did these children. Her body of clay would never produce children. No babies to nurse at her breast. No small one to rock to gently in her arms while she sang them to sleep. She was fooling herself now as she had then. Somehow she believed that all of her time with the children made them hers. It did not. At the end of the day, then as now she went home alone . . . At least then she had Kaede. Now her only friends were the demons who brought her the souls of young girls to nourish her body. Once she had hunted these monsters. Now she was truly one of them. What child would want anything to do with her if they knew what sort of creature she was?

**My riches cant buy everything,**

**I want to hear the children sing.**

**All I hear is the sound**

**Of rain falling on the ground,**

**I sit and watch as tears go by.**

She had been fooling herself. Making herself believe that she could go back to her life before her death. Better she abandoned her charade and return to death once she had completed her vengeance against Inuyasha. Pretending only made it hurt more. The night revealed what she truly was. Not the gentle miko the children loved. , but the soul eating vampire who stalked the night and killed anyone who got in her way. By morning the word would spread. None of the children would return to her side. She must move on and complete her task. Children were not meant for her. Their laughter only mocked her. She wanted to cry, but her body did not produce any tears. There was no release for the hurt and the pain that she felt. Only the emptiness of knowing that she could no longer feel the love of children as she once had. With her life that too had been taken from her. She was left with a bitter taste in her mouth.

**It is the evening of the day,**

**I sit and watch the children play.**

**Doing things I used to do**

**They think are new,**

**I sit and watch as tears go by.**

She had been better off dead. At least then she did not have to face Inuyasha. It had been hard enough killing him the first time. She had begged him not to say her name, not to revive her. But she could not speak through her reincarnations lips and Inuyasha could not help saying her name. As a result she was left with this false body and its memories. Memories of a time when the love and laughter of children had made her hard life as miko worth living. Now they only served to remind her of what she could never have. She could touch them, but no feel them. She could hear laughter, but could not laugh with them. Where her heart had been, there was only a hollow cavity filled with the souls of dead girls. She ignored their pain, but she could not ignore her own. The sooner this life ended the better. No use to pretend. No use to play the friend to the children. She had to admit to herself that she was a monster and let go of the fantasy that used to be her life.


	48. Safety First

Title: Safety First

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Safe (The Wilted Rose Week 18)

Word Count: 296

Universe: Canon

Warning: None

Summary: Kikyou resolves to save Inuyasha

She played over the words of the head man again and again in her mind .

" He is youkai, a monster. Our children are not safe around him. You know that he feels the call of the jewel. He craves its power just like the rest of them. Your job is to protect the village and the Jewel from youkai. The hanyou is not exempt. Hasn't he attacked you six time already? He has never given up his desire for the Jewel. If you cannot kill him we will hire taijiya who will do the job. That is our final word."

Kikyou could not believe it Her arguments had been in vain. Inuyasha was no threat to her or the village. She could kill him anytime. He had saved her own sister. She knew that he had a human heart, but that was not enough for the villagers. To them the only good youkai was a dead youkai. The village was no longer safe for Inuyasha. Something in the last words of the headman was important.

"He is half human. His heart is human."

" It is not enough. Only humans are acceptable in this village. Youkai taint the Jewel."

" So you are saying if he was human he could stay."

" Yes, but we know that he will always be hanyou."

A plan began to form in Kikyou's mind. If only he were human, the headman would not feel it necessary to kill him. There was a way if only she had will to carry it out. She arranged a meeting later that day with Inuyasha.

" Inuyasha, you are half-human. If you used the Shikon no Tama, you could be fully human."

"And why would I want to do that?"


	49. Led Down the Primrose Path

Title: Led Down the Primrose Path

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Search (The Wilted Rose Week 19)

Word Count 558

Genre: High anxiety

Universe: Canon (Volume 23)

Warning None

Summary: Kikyou is lured to Mount Hakurei

She had always been in control. In her first life and in her present existence. Even her love for Inuyasha had been controlled. Never touching. Never having. Always the proper miko. She would only give herself to him when he was human. When the jewel was gone. When she was no longer a miko. Each step of the journey had been planned. Unfortunately for Naraku knew of her plans and had used her own plan to destroy them both.

Now she was at a last. Naraku was gone. His castle was deserted. No sign nor scent of him remained. Neither she nor her soul collectors could find any sign of him or his aura anywhere. Unlike Inuyasha, Kikyou had always known where he was. She had no fear of him because she had him under her scrutiny at all times.

But now she was at a loss. Not knowing where he was gnawed at her. No matter where she looked she could not find him. She sought out every evil aura that she could find, but he was not there. No matter how hard and how far she searched he had vanished. His absence did not bode well. It could only mean that he had hidden himself from her so that he could prepare something for her. She did not fear her own death Death was something she knew intimately.

What she feared was not knowing what was to come. She feared not being in control. For her plan to succeed she had to know where Naraku was so that she could send him to hell when he obtained all of the Shikon Jewel. She shrugged off her fears. The dirt from Onigumo's cave made her invulnerable to his attacks. He could never kill her so long as the heart of Onigumo, the man who loved her enough to sell his soul to have her, beat within his chest.

In her search she had come across a dying man who asked her to take his topknot to the shrine founded by to absolve him of his crimes. Although she did not know the man or where the shrine might be located, she had taken on this task. Somehow the whole story that the criminal told had seemed so familiar. But she was a compassionate miko and she could never refuse one who asked her to relieve his suffering.

Her search had not been in vain. She stared at the sacred mountain. There at the base of the mountain in the center of a lake was the shrine founded by the saint. She felt uneasy. Her goal was in sight why should she feel such a sense of foreboding

Her search had led her here. But she had a feeling that she had been led here. Who had led her? What did they want? Why was she here? So many questions. So few answers. She had been taken away from search for Naraku by granted the last wish of the criminal for absolution.

She had been reluctant to set aside her own mission to destroy Naraku, but she was first and foremost a miko, a servant of the kami. Her duty to them always came first. No matter what fear or doubts she might have, she would do her duty to the end even if it killed her.


	50. The Bonfire of Her Dreams

Title: The Bonfire of Her Dreams

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Kiss (The Wilted Rose Week 20)

Word Count 300

CU

Warning: None

Summary: Kikyou revels in the kiss

The kiss had exploded in her mind. The event had taken on a life of its own leaving her former existence a pale shadow. She thought of nothing else. It occupied all of her waking hours. The kiss had made him the object of all her desire, all her hopes, all her dreams.

She could still feel the tingle of the her lips. The scrape of his fangs against her tongue thrilled her and made her beg for more. The warmth of his breath as he told her that he loved her. The urgent press of his body against hers as he told her that he wanted to become human so that they could live together as human and wife.

The kiss had ignited a passion within her. Her heart was on fire. It was consuming her body and soul. All thought of her duty as a miko and as Protector of Shikon non tama were burned on the bonfire of her dreams.

Of course she had considered love and marriage before. Somewhere in her mind she saw herself surrounded by dark-haired children. She had always dismissed them as fantasies. She had laughed when Tsubaki cursed her, saying that she would die a violent death if she fell in love with a man. She had never feared falling in love because it could never happen to her.

The tides of love swept all her fears and doubts away. The kiss erased all her training in a moment of passion. Her only thoughts were of his kiss, his touch, his passion, his gentleness and his words of love.

Somehow she would have to survive until their next meeting. The wish on the jewel could not come too soon for her because she lived only for him.


	51. Facing Her Fears

Title : Facing Your Fears

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Courage (The Wilted Rose Four Spirits Week 21)

CU

Genre: Introspection

Word Count:744

Warning: No

Summary: Kikyou's thoughts after The Entrusted Arrow.

Her own words echoed in her mind " Am I a burden to you, Inuyasha?" Even her reincarnation saw her as a pitiful charity case. Not even when she had fallen toward the miasma or tried to hug Inuyasha as he hung on the tree had she felt so much despair. Her present condition showed

how low she had fallen.

Once she had been the Protector of the Shikon Jewel. Youkai trembled at her name. Naraku feared her so much that he had destroyed a mountain just to obtain a new body which did not contain the heart that loved her. She feared no one.

Once she would have dismissed Inuyasha and gone off to confront herself. It was humiliating to have to him see her in this condition. To think that she had to summon him to find out what Naraku was doing. She had seen what he thought of her.

She was now a feeble shadow of the woman she had been. Dependent on Shikigami, soul collectors, puppets and the souls of young girls to keep her alive. The wounds from Naraku's miasma were still not healed despite what Kagome had done for her. The wound he carved in her was deeper. He had reopened the wounds of fifty years past. Some wounds would never heal.

Once she had a fearless confident young woman. She had laughed in the face of death. Her duty had always come first even if meant dying instead of saving herself. She was just fooling herself. That woman had died fifty years ago. She was just a simulacrum of herself. No wonder Inuyasha and Kagome pitied her.

She did not need or want their pity. If nothing else she was a creature of duty. It would take all of her power and skill to bring down Naraku. If Naraku was going to use Kagome's eyes to find the last shard of the jewel as she suspected she would have to be ready for a much more powerful Narkau whom she might have to face alone.

The time had come to get off her butt and stop hiding. She would never defeat him if she hid behind her puppets and shikigami. Admittedly, she was not at full strength, but as she had told Inuyasha, her spiritual powers were as potent as they had ever been. She would not let Inuyasha treat her like an invalid. When Naraku came back she would be ready to face him.

Even with her arrow, she did not believe that Kagome had what it took to take down Naraku. That is why she wanted to go with Inuyasha to face Naraku. Kagome's eyes were a resource too valuable to waste. She knew Naraku. He had set up this whole plan simply to trap Kagome.

She felt slighted by Naraku. Her threat had been dismissed by Naraku. Instead, he had set his sights on using Kagome. She would never have allowed herself to be used by Naraku. Even when Naraku thought he was using her gift to make himself stronger, she knew better. He must be in possession of the entire jewel in order for her to expel him from this world.

It hurt that Kagome was using her arrow to attack Naraku. She had dismissed as too weak and infirm to face Naraku. Her puppet had been adequate to fight Naraku's allies and incarnations.

Only she could face him directly. She must heal herself and be prepared to confront him directly.

She must put all of fears and doubts behind her Once she had been tricked by Naraku disguising himself as Inuyasha. He had been able to do so because she had let her guard down At Mount Hakurei she had hesitated and it had nearly killed her because she had been overconfident. She had relied too much on his inability to kill her because of his love for her.

This time would be different. Naraku must be killed by any means possible. She would do anything she had to defeat him. Not Inuyasha or she could be spared in this battle. She had told him that he must defend himself against Naraku because she would not do so.

When the time came to dispatch Naraku, she saw herself one on one against Naraku. She would face him down in the end and purify him and Jewel once and for all so that she could cast both of them from the world forever.


	52. Closer to Heaven

Title Closer to Heaven

Author landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Close ( Inuyasha Themes Prompt #6)

Word Count: 300

Genre: Stages of Death

CU

Warning: Character Death

Summary Kikyou. Still Dead. But she getting better.

When Kikyou died , she knew Hell. Hell was being betrayed by the one you loved. Hell was seeing everything that you ever wanted was within reach but being unable to touch it. Hell was following after the one you loved so that you would never have to see him again. Hell was choosing to burn with the Jewel so that it would no evil person would possess it again.

When she was reincarnated, she should have been able to move on. Instead, she was forced to back to the world as one of the living dead. Stuck in a private hell, trapped with the hate and love that she had died with. unable to move on from the moment she died. Forced to live off the souls of others to continue her existence. Bereft of all purity of her former life she became one of the monsters whom she had fought all of her life.

As her body of bone and graveyard soil dissolved Kikyou knew Heaven. Heaven was becoming the ordinary women that she had always wanted to be. Heaven was having the man you loved hold you in his arms. Heaven was having the man you loved tell you that you were the first woman he loved and cry for you. Heaven was reclaiming your humanity. Heaven was promising to watch over the man you loved.

In her last moments she made peace with all of her attachments to the world of the living. Her duties as Protector of the Sacred Jewel had been transferred to Kagome. All of her power had been transferred to the Jewel At last she was ready to move on.

She might still be dead, but at least since Kagome had saved her soul she was closer to Heaven.


	53. No Time For Friendship

Title: No Time For Friendship

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Friendship (Spirits of Jewel series for The Wilted Rose)

Genre: Rats

Word Count: 1267

CU

Warning None

Summary: Kikyou wonders about friendship

Once her tree had been destroyed, she had come to destroy the source of the rats. It was good to act openly against Naraku. The hiding and waiting for his return had been humiliating and tedious. She was fully recovered and ready to face the Avatar of Hell again. He really did not need to kill humans just to get her out of hiding.

Naraku was bad enough, but he tweaked her by sending his little monster, Hakudoshi, to bring her out of hiding. A despicable little beast who was not a challenge worthy of her. She knew that Naraku was off somewhere laughing at all the bother that his little minion caused and all the trouble she had to go through to handle it.

The scene in the valley below intrigued her. Inuyasha's friends were vainly trying to fight off the rats trying to return to the miniature shrine. A woman was trying to drag a boy onto a nekomata while the cat vainly tried to carry them away from the rapidly growing pile of rats. A young novice monk was using a hole in his hand to suck as many of the rats as he could to keep them away from the others.

All of them were risking their own lives to save the others. Is this what friends did for each other? She knew these people only as Inuyasha's friends. Their names and theirs stories were a mystery to her. It puzzled her that people would care so much about others that they would put themselves at risk out of friendship.

Friendship was a concept which was alien to her. She had gone to the temple at an early age. At the temple she had been there to learn from the master. Friendships between acolytes were discouraged. Emphasis was placed upon reaching and maintaining the proper level of purity. No friendships were ever allowed between the master and his disciples. It was not proper.

She had returned to the village as it as their miko. Mikos had no friends. They were never to marry. Never to know love. They must remain pure in their service to the kami. All respected her and showed her deference, but none showed her friendship. She was alone. Her sister was ten years younger than herself. She was more like a daughter to her than a sibling. Kaede was too young to be the friend that she so desperately needed.

The situation had been exacerbated by the arrival of the Shikon no Tama. Every waking moment was seemingly spent in fighting off the youkai who coveted the Jewel. No one spoke to her anymore. No one allowed their children to play with her. She had never felt so alone.

It was in the midst of this loneliness that he had arrived. A weak hanyou trying to find his place in the world by becoming a youkai with the power of the jewel no worthy of her time. His persistence had amused her. He had no chance of taking the jewel from her. She could kill him any time she wished. Was he so desperate to rid himself of his hanyou existence that he would risk his life again and again?

Maybe it was that quality which attracted her to Inuyasha. In the end it was desperate loneliness that drew them together. They had huddled together against the cold wind that they both felt. The need to be together was desperate. Both of them were willing to sacrifice anything so that they could live as husband and wife. Only if the Jewel were gone could this end be achieved.

Were they friends then? She was not sure. She had loved him desperately. Was willing to give up everything for him. Felt betrayed by him, but in the end she could not live without him. Was that friendship? Apparently not. Her trust for him had been shattered the instant that she felt his claws tear her flesh. All that remained was love, sorrow and hate.

When she was resurrected, she had tried to hate him. Then she had tried to love him. But she had seen that someone else had taken her place. He would never be hers again, They might meet to exchange news about Naraku, but nothing would ever be the way that it was. He was just a memory to her A collection of might have beens. She was just a duty to him, a life debt because she had died following after him.

Since then she had been on her own private crusade to rid the world of had no time for love or friendship. Since her desperation had increased. She needed to expel Naraku and the Jewel from the world as soon as possible. Her weakness had forced her to seek out Kagome's help to heal her. Inuyasha had made her feel like a burden. Someone who had to be protected because they were too weak to contribute.

She would not hide from Naraku any more. If he wanted to find her so desperately to go to this extreme, she would seek him out. Nothing like the rats or the birds should be allowed to happen again. The time had come for her to confront Naraku directly. She looked forward to it. Hakudoshi was not a challenge to her. All of his petty schemes were not a threat to her.

Her attention was returned to the scene below by the sight of Inuyasha rushing to help his their efforts were in vain. None of them could destroy the barrier surrounding the shrine. Only she possessed that power. She can come to destroy the shrine not to save Inuyasha and his friends from the rats. The time had come to end this farce. so that she could return to her task of finding Naraku.

She fired her arrow. Inuyasha's friends would be saved. to fight another day. She had not fired the arrow for them or Inuyasha. It simply had to be done to stop Naraku. Although they were Inuyasha's friends, her crusade was more important than any life. If she had to she would sacrifice their lives, Inuyasha's life and her own life to achieve that end.

She might understand intellectually why friends would sacrifice their lives for each other, but she could not feel it in her heart. She had no friends for whom she was willing to risk her life. All she had left were her puppets, her soul collectors and her shikigami. None of them could remotely be classified as friends. No one to share her burden, her sorrows and her joys. All that remained was her mission.

After Inuyasha destroyed the shrine, the rats disappeared. The cat, the woman and the boy lay huddled together. Another minute and all that remained would have been skeletons. Friendship had been rewarded. The monk rushed to woman's side. The kitsune arrived carrying her reincarnation. , the person who had replaced her in Inuyasha's heart.

She felt a twinge of jealousy, but dismissed it. It was unworthy of her. Inuyasha continued to stare at her. Their eyes met for a moment. She finally turned to leave with her shikigami. There was no place for her here. She must get on with her mission. There was no time for Inuyasha, no time for friendship, no time for love. All these belonged to the mortal world of she was no longer a part. The sooner she completed her mission the sooner she could leave this world behind.

Still, it would be nice to have a friend.


	54. Free to Love

Title: Free to Love

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Love ( The Wilted Rose, 4 Spirits)

Word Count: 1092

CU

Warning: None

Summary:Kikyou thinks about love after the Jealousy chapter

Death had freed her to love and to hate. Yet she was no more free than when she alive. She was still the guardian of the jewel. Even though she might have handed it to Naraku to watch over she still intended to send him and Jewel to Hell.

It was love that had started all of this in the first place. Two men. One human had been willing to give up his body to demons for a chance to be with Kikyou. One half-demon had been willing to become human just to be with her. All out of love.

Love gone wrong becomes obsession. As Naraku the first thing he did was mortally wound the woman he loved. All he could do was watch as she dragged herself back to the shrine. Naraku did allow him one thing. His dream had been Kikyou killing Inuyasha. His jealous heart demanded it. Naraku was more than willing since he still needed the jewel.

All she had to do was wish to be alive and the jewel would have Naraku's and Onigumo could have had his Kikyou. Instead she had followed after the worthless hanyou. Dying together. The most pitiful act of love. Her only hope that they would never meet again. She had loved him too much and the betrayal had been too great.

Yet fifty years later they were all back. Inuyasha. Onigumo. Kikyou. The names were the same, but the love was not. Naraku might not be able to kill her Onigumo loved her too much. He watched her and stalked her, obsessed over everything she did. Even his desire to kill her was due to his need to rid himself of his obsession for her.

She had thought that she could hate Inuyasha and rid herself of her attachment to this world by killing him. Instead she found that she still loved him. She still desired the physical attachment to him that she could never have in her present body. The body might look human, but it was not. They could never be together in this world. Only in death could they be together again.

Their love was pathetic. Inuyasha now only felt a duty to her because she had died following after him. He did not want to be with her. Her reincarnation was doing the things for him that she had wanted to do. Naraku wanted to kill her because of Onigumo's obsession for her, but could not. He had tried to use one of his creatures to kill him. Once she covered herself in Onigumo's lust neither he nor his creatures would ever be able to hurt him again.

The jealousy she had experienced by Goshinboku was almost amusing. Naraku was jealous of her holding Inuyasha and telling him that no man would ever touch a strand of her hair even though no man would ever want a dead woman like that. Inuyasha was jealous of the fact that Naraku loved her even though all Naraku wanted to do with her body was to torture her and kill her.

Perhaps the most pathetic creature was her reincarnation. She had Inuyasha's love and did not even realize it. She had known it since he left her side to save that girl instead of going to hell with her. All she had was Inuyasha's misguided sense of duty toward her. She had known his love. All she felt now was a pale shadow of that feeling. She would give anything if Inuyasha would only look at her the way he looked at Kagome. It was too late and she would just have to put those feelings behind her.

When she had realized that the love had gone, it had made her decision to resume her duties as guardian of the Sacred Jewel easier. She knew her place as the guardian. Love was not allowed there. In order for her plan to succeed Naraku would become stronger and stronger. No matter how she felt about Inuyasha in the end he would have to save himself. He might even have to be sacrificed for Naraku to be killed and the Jewel to be driven from this world.

Sometimes she wondered whether she had really loved at all. Inuyasha had been surprised that Onigumo had been so jealous of them that he had wanted her to kill Inuyasha. Was there anything for him to be jealous of? Before they died, they had never kissed or even touched. The original attraction had been Inuyasha's guilt over the look of total loneliness that she had given him. Hardly the basis for love or marriage. Yet they had been so desperate that they ignore all of the signs of impending disaster

They had all died for love. Onigumo, Inuyasha and herself. Yet the Jewel was not finished with them. It had brought them all back to life to play with again. Throw Naraku into the mix who hated her because Onigumo made him love her and Kagome who hated her because she had tried to kill her and Inuyasha and they made quite a group. All trapped in triangles of jealousy.

Only she could escape and look at life rationally. She could manipulate Inuyasha to anger with jealousy and calm him in a moment with words of love. Naraku she could toy with because she knew that Onigumo would never let him harm her. His lust for her was a shield and a weapon against Narkau and his creatures. Kagome she could hurt for taking away the love of the only man she had ever cared for by making her jealous of Inuyasha's attachment to her.

She did not need love. It only hurt her. She knew that she could never have Inuyasha All she could ever hope from him was pity. She did not want Naraku or Onigumo, but their love prevented them from hurting. her. She was condemned to be a creature of duty who was surrounded by people who loved her in ways that she could use to manipulate them, but never a feeling of love which she could be recipricate.

Love had complicated her life so much. Love had killed her. Love had brought her back to this world despite the pain. Yet even though she was free to love she could not return the love of those who loved her and could not win the love of the only man she wanted. Maybe it would have better if she had never loved at all.


	55. The Woman in White

Title: The Woman in White

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: White (Issekiwa Week 83)

Word Count: 250

CU

Warning: Ghosts

Summary: Kikyou returns to her old haunts

The men told tales about around the fire of a woman in white who appeared every year on the same day by the sacred tree. The apparition would struggle toward the hanyou pinned by an arrow to the tree. She appeared to be trying to hug the boy locked forever between life and death.. When she came close enough to touch him, she would fall to her knees and sigh as if she knew that she could never reach him. Slowly, she would fade away until nothing remained but the night mists..

The men who guarded Inuyasha swore that she had been making these visits as long as they could remember. Kaede wondered why she had never heard of the legends. Why had her sister never appeared to her. She had kept the faith and become the village miko in her sister's place. She had kept a guard on the hanyou for fifty years. Where was her reward for her lonely vigil?

This year she would watch alone. If her sister came she would see her. At midnight the ghost appeared and began her trek toward Inuyasha. Kaede could not restrain herself

"Sister"

The woman in white turned and smiled with that look of utter loneliness that Kikyou had perfected.

"Kaede you came at last. Expect my reincarnation this summer. Through her I will finally reach Inuyasha. Through her I will finally free Inuyasha. Through her Inuyasha and I will finally find love and peace. Farewell, beloved sister."


	56. On the Job Training

Title On the Job Training

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Kikyou + Kagome conversation a gift fic fo Kmoaton

Word Count 3045

CU post manga

Pairing Inuyasha/Kagome

Warning None

Summary: Kikyou is sent by the kami to learn what it means to be an ordinary woman

She had the house all to herself. Inuyasha left with Miroku early in the morning. Souta was visiting with Sango and the girls. At last she could get some housework done instead of chasing hanyous around to get them to do what she wanted.

The floor was filthy. The laundry was piled to the sky. Dirty dishes were everywhere. A garden full of weeds. Time for Spring cleaning She changed into old clothes which were already dirty and set to work. The dust flew fast and thick. Dogs did seem to have the ability to track in lots of mud. The dust began to cloud the entire room.

As the dust settled, a bright light slowly began to illuminate the dust particles. They almost seemed to sparkle. A form began to coalesce in the center of the dust cloud. When it cleared, a naked female form was sprawled across the floor by the fire pit. Kagome screamed. She was back.

Kikyou stared groggily at Kagome. One minute she was being interrogated about what she had learned in her life. The next she found herself here. Her answers had not satisfied the questioners. She was not sure why. Apparently, she was here to find out what she had missed.

When Kagome finished screaming, she finally realized that Kikyou was lying naked on her floor. She found the priestess garb that Kaede said belonged to Kikyou and thrust it at her. Kikyou hauled herself to her feet and donned the outfit. Kagome was filled with a sense of deja vu. How could this keep happening to her?

"Kikyou, I thought you were dead. What are you doing here now?"

Kikyou stared at her. Finally she found the will to speak. " I was told that until I learned what it was to be an ordinary woman I was not ready to move on. I thought that when I died I had become an ordinary woman. Apparently not. There is something that I do not understand. They told me that I was given a gift that I did not appreciate it. Until I do, I will stay in limbo not able to move on. Apparently, you are an ordinary woman. They told me that if I follow you around that I will be able to learn what that means. What is so special about you that I was forced to come here."

Kagome was not sure whether she was being insulted. She could never tell with Kikyou. In a way she had been relieved when Kikyou had finally died. She had always compared herself unfavorably to Kikyou. Always thought that she was second in Inuyasha's heart.

Mount Azusa had been a revelation. She had to tell the false Kikyou that she was just as good as her in order to survive. She had to believe that her experiences with Inuyasha were just as important as hers. It was the only way out.

Yet only one week later her heart was still burdened with pain about Inuyasha's relationship with Kikyou which was not helped by his deep desire to die with her. No wonder Kaou thought her pain was greater than Inuyasha's. She just would not allow hers to be revealed. Her heart was her own and her pain was hers to keep to herself.

All those emotions flooded back. Why now. She and Inuyasha were happy at last. No ways she wanted go through Kikyou . She bit her lip and turned toward Kikyou.

" I do not know anything about being an ordinary woman. I just live here with my husband and my son. I chose to come back here because I wanted to be with Inuyasha. I could not live in the world without him."

Kikyou stared at her. " I did not mean to bring back all of our past difficulties. This is not about Inuyasha or Naraku or the Jewel. This is about something I do not understand. The kami believe that I will come to understand by living with you and doing what you do. Apparently, I am supposed to follow you around."

" Won't it be difficult if you are recognized? People still remember Kikyou. You have a shrine on the hill. A grave. You won't be able to go anywhere or do anything."

"Don't worry about that I am only visible to you or persons you want me to be visible to. I am yours to command."

" How will explain you to Souta? What if we run into Miroku or Sango or Kaede?

"I am sure that you can find some fiction that your son will believe. Children have a way accepting things that adults never do. The monk and my sister will be more difficult. They might sense my presence even though they cannot see me. It might be better if you avoided them."

" Miroku is on the road with Inuyasha right now. I train with Kaede on a daily basis. I cannot simply avoid her."

" Maybe I can watch your son while you are training with Kaede. I am sure that what you are learning from Kaede is not what the kami want me to learn. Perhaps I can watch Souta while you are there."

" I am still not sure how I am going to explain you to Souta. How long are you going to stay?"

" I am supposed to stay until I understand."

"Inuyasha will be a problem."

"Then I must complete my mission before he comes back. I have no desire to interfere between the two of you. We may have loved each other, but our time has passed. All I would do now is give him pain and I have no desire to do that"

Kagome sighed. This was going to be hell. Just another burden she would have to endure. She raised her eyes heavenward. Why me? But no one answered. Better get to it. Those chores were not going to do themselves.

Kikyou interrupted her thoughts " What should I do first?"

" Why don't we start with the laundry? I hate that the most. It may go faster if the two of us concentrate on it. By the way, if anyone asks you are my cousin, Yuki from Kyoto. That should keep most people happy. We just need to remember to avoid Kaede."

They took the laundry down to the stream. Kagome had often wished that she could just put the clothes in the washing machine. Sometimes she even dreamed about it. Even a wringer would be better than beating the clothes on rocks. Kikyou took up the work in silence. It seemed that she had not forgotten her domestic skills. They had been hard won for Kagome. Painful lessons that she would soon forget. After a few hours they finally finished.

" I will need to go down to Kaede's. for lessons. Could you hang the laundry on the line while I am gone?"

"What should I do if Souta comes back?"

" If you could tell him a story and put him down for a nap that would be great. He has probably been terrorizing Miroku and Sango's children all morning. He might be tired enough to nap. If he is hungry, you can heat up what was left over from last night. It needs to be eaten before it spoils

Stay here and stay out of trouble."

She left leaving Kikyou in her wake. The former priestess looked around the room. What a mess. Her mother never would be tolerated such sloppiness. Could this be what she had been sent back for to teach her reincarnation housekeeping? Laundry. The laundry needed to be hung on the line. Best to get to it. Then she would get to work on the house.

Kagome ran as fast as she could to Kaede's. She found the old priestess weeding the herb garden with Rin. They both looked up from their tasks and greeted her warmly. Kagome bent down to assist them. When they were finished, they broke for tea. Kagome decided to broach a delicate subject.

"Kaede, do the kami speak to you?"

"They speak in their own way. You just have to be willing to listen."

"Have they ever appeared to you?"

"Only in my dreams."

"What would you do if they did?"

"It would depend on who they were and what they wanted me to do. What is this about?"

" The kami have asked me to teach someone."

" I don't see the problem"

"I have never taught anyone."

"What do they want you to teach?"

"They want to make someone understand what it is to be an ordinary woman."

Kaede froze. Only one person could make Kagome this crazy. Why was Kikyou back? What did she want this time? It had been hard enough seeing her the first time. She had felt every bit of her pain.

" Kagome, I would never call you an ordinary woman, but if anyone can help my sister, you can. You saved her body. You saved her soul. I think that is why the kami sent to her to you. Despite all that went on between the two of you, you shared a soul. Nobody else has a bond like that. I trust in your judgment to do the right thing"

" Who are you? You smell like Mommy."

Kikyou stared looked down from hanging the laundry to stare at a dark-haired boy with golden eyes. He must be Souta. She had often dreamed of having Inuyasha's children, but they were always human in her dreams. From the looks of the boy he must be 1/4 demon. She struggled to remember what Kagome had told her.

" My name is Yuki. Your mother told me to feed you and tell you a story before a nap."

"I am a big boy. I do not need naps."

"Even the Peach Boy took naps before he went to defeat the ogres. Do you know about the Peach Boy?"

"Mommy always lets me act the parts when she tells me the story. She lets me play the part of Momotaro. I have a pheasant, a monkey and a dog who help me."

"Why don't you bring out your friends so that we can go conquer the ogres?"

Souta gathered his animals while Kikyou went to put water and stew on the fire to heat. She added some wood to the fire while she waited for him. Soon he returned with his animals under his arms.

He and his animals were scattered about the floor anxiously awaiting the story. She had always loved story telling to children. It would have been wonderful to have children of her own to tell them that story, but that was not her lot in life. It was amusing to watch him act out the story.

When she finished the story, she gave him a bowl of stew. When he finished, he crawled into her lap. She brushed his hair back and gently patted his ears. Eventually he fell asleep. Kikyou gently put him on his futon and covered him.

As quietly as she could, she began to sweep out the house. When she was finished, she did the dishes. She was outside gathering the laundry when Kagome finally returned.

Kagome eyed her cautiously. She wondered how Kikyou had occupied her time. The visit to Kaede and then Sango had taken longer than she expected. When she entered the house, she found Kikyou seated in front of the fire pit folding laundry.

The stew pot and water pot were on the fire pit. The house was cleaner than it had ever been. All of the dishes were washed put away. She checked on Souta. He was sleeping soundly and his toys were all put away

Kagome picked up her sewing and walked over to where Kikyou was folding the laundry. Kikyou offered her some tea which she quietly sipped while waiting for the elderly priestess to talk to her. Finally, Kagome could wait no longer.

" Thank you for cleaning the house. I know it must have seemed like a windstorm blew through. I have never been on my own. I helped my mother, but I never had to keep house. It is still a learning experience for me."

Kikyou finally looked at her " It is amazing the things that come back to you. All those years taking care of Kaede surely came in handy."

" So Souta was no problem."

"No, he was an angel. He played with his toys while he listened to the Peach Boy story. I love the animals. His version added a lot to the story. You and Inuyasha are really lucky to have such a good boy."

" Yes we are."

" I dreamed that Inuyasha and I would have boys with black hair. I figured yours would have silver hair."

Kagome squeezed Kikyou's hand. It was one of those "if only" one has where they regret what has happened and wonder what if. Of course if Kikyou and Inuyasha had lived there happily ever after, she might never have been reincarnated or brought back by the Jewel by Kikyou's lingering affection for Inuyasha. She would never have married Inuyasha and they never would have had Souta. Fate was kind to some and cruel to others.

Kikyou sighed and gave Kagome a puzzled look. " I do not understand why I have been sent here. All the things that you do I used to do every day when Kaede was a child. I do not understand how doing daily chores will teach me what it means to be an ordinary woman."

The truth hit Kagome like a thunderbolt. It was amazing that someone as intelligent as Kikyou could not see what was as plain as the nose on her face. She had been an ordinary woman all along. She did not have become one. Inuyasha did not make her one. She had not made Kikyou an ordinary woman by saving her soul. It was not a matter of losing her powers that caused her to be an ordinary woman.

Kikyou did not realize that all the work that she had done is raising Kaede was what every ordinary woman did for her child. She cooked and cleaned. Told her bedtime stories. Took care of her when she was sick. For all practical purposes Kaede was Kikyou's child. The only thing she had never had that other women had was a husband. Naraku had seen that she would never be married. Never be intimate with a man. She had known love, but never fulfillment. Slain on her own wedding day. Her fiancé slain by her own hand.

" Kikyou, you have always been an ordinary woman. They blinded you when they told you that a miko could never be an ordinary woman. Everything you did with Kaede shows that you were a great mother. Look how well she turned out. You loved Inuyasha you were both ready to sacrifice everything so that you can be together as husband and wife. You did not need to wish on the Jewel to be an ordinary woman or be together as husband and wife. The Jewel would have twisted your wish. Naraku was created specifically to prevent you from purifying the Jewel, but it forced him to return the Jewel to prevent him from unbalancing the Jewel. You looked for a way to become an ordinary woman when it was inside you all along."

Kikyou looked anguished. Kagome thought for a moment she was going to cry. She stared into the cup of tea in her hand.

"So all of my plans and schemes were all in vain."

" Your heart was in the right place. It was your love for Inuyasha that brought me here to bring him back to life."

"I am sorry I was so jealous of you. It was just that you were doing the things that I wanted to do with Inuyasha. Now I am brought back to see you living the life I wished for with Inuyasha. At least now I realize that I was always the woman I wanted to be. Thank you for your help. Give Inuyasha and Souta my love. There is someone I wanted to talk to before I return to the kami."

They hugged. Kikyou got up and left the hut. Kagome looked over at Souta. She was lucky. She had the man and the life she wanted Life was good. Lucky she had discovered early where her heart lay. If not for Kikyou's love for Inuyasha, the Jewel would never have brought her back to this era. Thank you, Kikyou. I will take care of Inuyasha for you until we meet again

Kaede woke with a start to see her sister staring at her. Kikyou put her hand to her lips. She leaned down and hugged her.

"What was that for?"

"Kagome made me realize that I was an ordinary woman all along. I never appreciated my life with you. I did not realize that my life with you was no different that any widow raising a young child would have. I just thought that I was doing my duty to raise you after our parents died. I was so caught up in my duty as a miko that I never appreciated our life together. Thank you for being my sister."

"Your welcome sister, I loved you more than you will ever know. You were like a second mother to me. That was why it hurt so much to see all the suffering you went through after you were resurrected. Hopefully we will be together again someday."

"I would like that, sister." As they embraced Kikyou slowly faded. Rin looked up at Kaede as she was standing there. It was nice to have a mother again.

Inuyasha came home that night to find his wife asleep by the fire pit. He could have sworn that he could smell Kikyou's scent. He shook his head. That was impossible. He picked her up and carried her to their futon. As he bent down to kiss her, Kagome opened her eyes and yawned

" Kikyou told me to tell you she loves you."


	57. The Shining Path

Title The Shining Path

Author:: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Knowledge/Wisdom (The Wilted Rose: Four Souls of the Jewel)

Word Count: 1195

CU

Warning: None

Summary: Kikyou guides Midoriko to her new life.

The Jewel exploded with a mighty flash shattering into an infinite number of pieces dwindling into nothingness. The youkai souls escaped to wherever their kind goes when they move on. A pillar of light appeared and took Inuyasha and Kagome back through the well to the world of modern Tokyo

When it was all over there was only a single point of light shining in the darkness illuminating the body of an armor-clad woman. A swirl of souls rushed past the armored breast plate and sank into the warrior's body. Slowly she stirred to life as the return of her soul to her body for the first time in 500 years reanimated her.

The light pulsed as ball of light descended upon it. Then it came together and glowed until they became one. They gradually took on the form of a priestess of the warring states' era. She walked over to the warrior and returned that part of the soul of the warrior she had borrowed and waited.

As she watched, the other woman stirred to life.

"Where am I?"

"You are in the meidou."

" Who are you?"

"In life and death I once was known as Kikyou. If you wish, you can call me by that name."

"How did I come to be here?"

"You wish to remember? Be prepared. The memories may cause you pain."

Kikyou placed her hand on the head of the warrior priestess, A light sprang from her hand and surrounded the head of the prone woman. The warrior gasped and tried to shrink back from the touch. Kikyou persisted and did not relinquish her hold until the light was extinguished. A pained look spread over the face of the warrior. Kikyou knew that look. A sudden comprehension of the truth of her existence. It was a lot to deal with when one had not been alive for five hundred years

She had experienced it only once in her life. As her false body was dissolving she finally discovered her humanity. It was first time in her life that she had truly been happy when she realized that Inuyasha loved her and that she was the woman whom she had always wanted

The truth of her life was finally revealed to her in a blinding flash and she died happy in the arms of the man she loved Midoriko's truth was far worse. What had happened to here in the Jewel was revealed. All the things that the Jewel had done flashed before her eyes in an instant. The woman hid her head.

Kikyou bent down and cupped her chin. " All of that is behind you. No need to hide your head or be ashamed of what you did or did not do. It is too late for that now. You like me were saved despite everything that we did. You are not responsible for what the Jewel did any more than I am responsible for the creation of Naraku. While we have a hand or been the reason for their creation. We are not responsible for what they did."

" Why are you here? "

" I am here because we have alike souls. We both were priestesses who fought and died fighting youkai. In death you forced your soul and the souls of the youkai you were fighting out and created the Jewel. You were forced to fight them for centuries. I guarded the Jewel and tried to take it with me when I died. It came back to this era when my reincarnation was drawn here from her home five hundred years in the future. We were both betrayed. You by Nameless, me by Onigumo who sold his soul to demons in order to possess me and the Jewel. In the end we were both saved by Kagome. She saved my soul by going to Mt. Azusa to save my life even though she hated. Without her intervention I would have remained one of the lost. Trapped forever in between death and life, unable to accept my own humanity unwilling to give up my attachment to the world. She just saved you by getting rid of the Jewel. Although the Jewel said Kagome was born to take your place fighting Naraku, the only way for you to be saved from fighting for eternity was for her to wish for the Jewel to disappear forever. When the Jewel disappeared you and Youkai were freed from it and are now able to pass on"

" That still does not explain what will happen next?"

" I have been sent by the kami to be your guide. It has been only a short time since I passed on. Part of me was still inside the Jewel and was not released until the Jewel disappeared. Both you and I being released from the Jewel are whole again and able to move on. The kami felt that because of our shared experiences that I was the best one to guide you along the path. I know that my experiences with the Jewel have not always been righteous. Before I died, I was going to use it so that Inuyasha and I could live together as husband and wife. I took it with me to the next world, but it returned because of my lingering affection for Inuyasha. I handed it over to Naraku so that I could send him from this world, but by doing so he was able to do much harm to the world. Lastly, I used part of your soul to heal myself and released your will to control the Jewel. I have just returned that part of your soul to you."

Midoriko pondered all that Kikyou had told her. Having been a part of the Jewel for five hundred years. she knew what she said rang true. In her last gasp to destroy evil she had created something far more sinister. Instead of killing the youkai she had been fighting them for five centuries. Her own actions had resulted in the deaths of thousands. Yet the kami were willing to forgive her and allow her to pass on. They had already forgiven the being in front of her for all of the wrongs that she had done in the fight for the Jewel. They owed their salvation to Kagome. Someday she hoped to thank this young woman for all that she had done. Without her she would have continued to be used by the Jewel and forced to fight for eternity. Now with her soul saved, she had a chance for a new life forever free of the tyranny of the Jewel. She held out here hand to Kikyou. Kikyou smiled and took her hand and together they set out on the shining path to a new life.


	58. When Words Fail

Title: When Words Fail

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Betrayal ( The Wilted Rose Week

Word Count:692

Warning: None

Summary: Kikyou and Inuyasha come together to prevent Naraku from convincing them that Kikyou had betrayed Inuyasha

Once betrayed trust can never be recaptured. Still, they were not willing to let their betrayer get the last laugh. Naraku had laughed in both their faces. To Inuyasha he said that Kikyou had delivered the Jewel shard to him. He thanked her for all of his new powers. All Inuyasha could do was wonder what he had done to her to bring her to this point. He knew that Naraku had betrayed him not Kikyou, but it was still Kikyou's arrow which killed him and left him hanging for fifty years. He had forgiven her for that, but now it seemed that she had betrayed him again. He had to know why.

She could not let it go. Inuyasha could not be allowed to believe that she was on Naraku's side by helping him to kill Inuyasha. She flew to Inuyasha in hopes that he would come to listen to her. How could she explain what she was doing? To Inuyasha it certainly would appear that she was Naraku's ally even though Naraku had killed her. Naraku had told her that Inuyasha was near death. There was little she could do for him. Naraku had to get stronger and stronger so that when he got all of the jewel shards she could cast him and the jewel shards from the world. He would have to somehow stay alive until that happened.

Their meeting was a disaster. He was accusatory and rejected her attempts at affection. He would not be appeased. She had to tell him the truth and hope for the best. He would never understand her plan. How could he hope to understand when her plan required Naraku to obtain all of the Jewel shards? How could she hope to regain his trust now? .

The truth was that she could not reassure him. He would have to save himself from Naraku until she could cast Naraku and the Jewel from the world. She would do everything in her power to assist Naraku in obtaining the Jewel, but she would not assist Naraku in killing Inuyasha. Inuyasha was barely alive. He knew that she had handed Naraku the Jewel. His body bore the scars that his incarnations had inflicted. He had come to her in hope that she would vouchsafe that she had not done what Naraku had said. What could she offer him?

" Your life belongs to me"

Like a drowning man, Inuyasha clung to those words. It allowed him to believe that she had not betrayed him. That she was not Naraku's ally. That she did not hate him and wish his death. That she had a plan to kill Naraku even though he did not understand it. That she still had feelings for him. That she had not betrayed him again.

The others and especially Kagome would never understand. In their mind's Kikyou was the enemy. Kagome had saved Inuyasha from Kikyou twice and still he loved her. How could he love her and trust her when what Kikyou had done left Inuyasha near death? Kagome knew that Kikyou had tried to kill her even though she and Kikyou denied it to Inuyasha. How could such a woman be trusted over the woman that stood by his side? They did not understand the bond that Kikyou and Inuyasha shared. They had died together. They had been betrayed. . Only those who have been betrayed and gone through death together could understand the desperation that they felt

In his mind Inuyasha believed that he owed Kikyou his life because she had died following after him. He was willing to trust her for the moment and allow his life to belong to her. Words of reassurance will never work for the betrayed. Trust once broken can never be repaired. For Inuyasha there was no choice. He could not allow himself to belief that Kikyou had betrayed him again. Such a belief would kill him. Instead, he hung onto the crumb which Kikyou tossed to him because he had no other option than to believe that in the end his trust in the woman he loved would be justified.


	59. Famous Last Words

Title: Famous Last Words

Aurhor: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Letter/Note (The Wilted Rose Week 26)

Word Count:300

Warning: None

Summary: Kaede moves on after news of Kikyou's death

She pulled the scroll from her sleeve. It was hard to believe that she had carried it with her for fifty years. She had almost consigned it to her sister's funeral pyre. Something stayed her that day just as it did now. It was her sister's last words to her.

She had been surprised to see her sister leaving so early that morning. Her lies had been so transparent. Her agitation so keen. As usual she had thought to throw off suspicion. by inquiring about her health. Her concern and her smile had never fooled Kaede.

She reread the note for the hundredth time.

_Dearest little sister_

_I have some business to attend to this morning. Sorry to leave you alone, but I am meeting Inuyasha today. Until I return, please do not tell anyone where I am going or whom I am meeting. Clean the house and put on the stew pot and the rice pot I am sorry that I did not have time to do so I was up all night purifying the Jewel. Take care of yourself and pray for me. I hope to have wonderful news when I return._

_With love, your sister, Kikyou._

The words had been so full of hope. So full of life. So full of her sister, Kikyou that she had never been able to let her go. Just having a part of her sister with her had provided a bulwark against the loneliness and heartache of her life after her sister died.

She did not need the scroll anymore. Kikyou was at peace at last. She tied the scroll around the little shrine and clapped her hands in prayer. The scroll had been retained to remember happier days. Kikyou had moved on. It was time for her to do so, too.


	60. The Red Thread of Fate

Title: The Red Thread of Fate

Author: landofhekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Thread (Issekiwa #87)

Word Count:250

CU

Warning: Character Death and resurrection

Summary "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break."

- an ancient Chinese belief

She had thought herself rather clever. By sealing Inuyasha with her arrow and burning herself with the Jewel she would never meet Inuyasha again in this world or the next. Never again would she have to face the one who had betrayed her. The one whom she loved. The one whom she could not live without. In death she would know peace. Free from the Jewel. Free from Inuyasha Free from her fate.

She awoke in a panic. Through the eyes of her simulacrum she could see the lover she had died to never see again walking toward her It was clear that he recognized her. She could see the telltale threads forming between her and Inuyasha. She could feel their pull It took all of her strength to prevent her from breaking free So long as he did not say her name, she could maintain her barrier.

"Kikyou"

Her heart skipped a beat. The barrier broke. Her spirit came pouring out of Kagome's body and into the clay vessel which Urusuae had fashioned. The thread tightened around the right wrists of Inuyasha and Kikyou. No matter how many times she tried to get out the red thread of fate kept dragging her back in..She had planned so carefully to cheat fate. How could this happen to her . She would have to face the lover who betrayed her again .Somehow she would have to find the strength to kill Inuyasha . Maybe that would break the string.


	61. The Face in the Mirror

Title: The Face in the Mirror

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Mask (The Wilted Rose Week 27)

Word Count::499

Genre: Contemplation of the Death of an old Friend

Warning: None

Summary: Kikyou decides that Kagome must die

The more she stared at the woman who shared her face, who shared her soul, shared her life, shared her lover, shared her vocation as guardian of the Shikon no clearer everything became to her. Kagome was her. She knew for certainty that there was only room in this world for one of her. The person named Kagome would have to die.

In a way Naraku was doing her a favor. He had opened up the crevasse to dissolve Kagome's body leaving only the Shikon no Tama. The rest of the lot would die in Illusionary Death Trap that Naraku had set for them . . .

She had come here to find out about Naraku. Kagome had already interfered by destroying the demon puppet. None of them needed to save her from Naraku she could have left anytime she wanted. If they died, it was their own fault.

She had her plan now. If she gave Naraku the entire jewel, she could purify him. First, she mustrid herself of her troublesome reincarnation and give the Jewel to Naraku.

This woman had already interferred with her. Twice she had called back her soul preventing her from killing Inuyasha and taking him to hell. In the Kudoku her actions had almost prevented Kikyou from reaching Naraku and could have resulted in Inuyasha merging with Naraku.

.This girl had already taken so much from her. Her soul, Inuyasha's heart, her task as guardian of the Jewel. It was time to take back her life. Her face. Her soul. If Naraku had succeeded in killing Inuyasha, she could reclaim Inuyasha in hell after she had rid the world of Naraku and the Jewel.

This girl had actually come to save her. Didn't she understand she hated her and wanted her dead. She was the face in the mirror. Every time Kikyou looked at her that face haunted her. Her face reflected everything that she had lost.

It reminded her that Kagome was alive while she was dead. Her reincarnation had the trust of Inuyasha and was healing the wounds of her heart. She carried and purified the Jewel of which Kikyou had been the guardian. The girl had a future. She could still be a wife and a mother to Inuyasha's children. The very thing for which she had given her life.

Kikyou had no future. She was dead. She could never be anything to Inuyasha. The only place they could be together was in hell. She could no longer be the guardian of the Jewel. Naraku would hold it until she was ready to cast him and the Jewel from this World.

She was free of all previous entanglements. A blank slate on which her new life could be written. She was free . No longer bound by the life she once had Better to break the mirror that her reincarnation represented so that she no longer had to face what she had become and what she could have been.


	62. Inside the Fire

Title: Inside the Fire

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Fire (Week 28 The Wilted Rose)

CU

Word Count:300

Characters: Kikyou and Midoriko

Warning: Character Death

Summary: Kikyou's body and jewel are burned on her funeral pyre.

She remembered her last words " Burn my body with the Jewel . . . ". The pain had been unbearable. So much sorrow. So many regrets. She had tried to hug Inuyasha. She was leaving her sister behind. But she had to do her duty and take the Jewel with her. No evildoer must ever be able to possess' it. The darkness overtook her.

She remembered swirling, swirling into the fire as her body and the Jewel melted in the flame. Faster and faster they melted into the fire until they were nothing. Figures swirled past her. Giant youkai fighting a woman in warrior garb. Fighting and dying. Fighting and dying until they were dissolved in the inferno

She awoke. The scene was bizarre. Bodies stacked like cordwood. Demons from hell marching at the command of their captains. The darkness was intimidating. The only light was the blaze whch engulfed, but did not consume the bodies which were outlined by the fire..

She was surrounded by a group of enormous youkai. Somehow she knew that these were the youkai whose souls made up the Jewel. Sitting on top of them was a woman dressed in Heian era armor gazing down at her.

"Pretty pitiful"

"I beg your pardon"

"You only killed your own lover before you died I killed all of these with my last gasp."

"And you created the Jewel which caused my death Thanks a lot."

The woman was somewhat taken aback. Finally, Kikyou spoke " So what happens next."

" You and the Jewel will be reborn."

Kikyou seemed disappointed until the warrior-priestess said " Consider it a second chance to do things right. I am counting on you to save us both from eternal damnation, kid. Don't screw it up"


	63. The Walking Wounded

Title: The Walking Wounded

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Dark (Inuyasha Themes #15)

Characters: Kikyou and Kohaku

Word Count:745

CU

Warning: None

Summary: Kikyou contemplates Kohaku's death

They had been brought back to life by Urusuae and Naraku for evil purposes. Now they shared the goal of killing Naraku. They were fellow travelers. She required the souls of dead girls to allow her to move. His life depended upon the shard in his back. They were the walking dead.

By all rights they should both be dead. Naraku had killed them both. Kikyou had been cut down fifty years ago but not before she sealed Inuyasha for fifty years. Kohaku had killed his entire family and hit his sister in the back with his sickle chain before he had been left for dead.

It bothered her that Kohaku was unwilling to see his sister. While she knew that he had been involved with Naraku, he had never shared the full story with her. She suspected that it had something to do with his death. She had seen him fight against Sango, but he was free from Naraku now and still could not face her.

They were bonded by Midorko's soul. Kikyou had been forced to use the warrior-priestess soul to heal her wounds long enough to kill Naraku. Midorko had summoned Kohaku through his shard. Once he knew the plan to kill Naraku by purifying the Jewel, he joined her without hesitation even though it meant his own death.

It was Kikyou who was hesitating now. Kohaku was just the kind of person she would have healed when she was a miko. Instead, she was using him to kill Naraku. Everything she did for him now seemed so hypocritical. No matter how she eased his mind and purified his shard, they both knew that someday she would sacrifice him without hesitation.

It was better that she stayed far away from Inuyasaha and taijiya. She knew that they both were trying to prevent her from using Kohaku. Inuyasha had told her that she was not the kind of woman who could take Kohaku's life. She was not so sure. Once she would have agreed with him, but since her death she had done many things that a miko would never do. She could not afford to shrink now. Naraku and the Jewel must be purified before her body crumbled into dust.

The sister hated her with a passion. She had seen the taijiya risk death in order to save found the idea that Kikyou would use her brother's life as a means to kill Naraku unspeakable. Kikyou understood her feelings She had a sister. If someone had killed Kaede even for a noble purpose, she would have tried to stop them.

Yet she was trying to do just that In the end she would ask Kohaku to give up his life to kill Naraku. The fact that it did not bother him made it worse. His acceptance and trust in her made her want to save him instead. What must his life have been like after his revival that he preferred death to life.

She had already hesitated Despite what she told Inuyasha about his sword not being able to kill Naraku, she had actually tried to assist Inuyasha in killing Moryomaru. If Moromaryu were killed, Kohaku could be saved. She had assumed that Kohaku would be the weak link in the chain. Instead, it was her.

She looked at the boy by her side. She was becoming weak willed. Doubts about her mission were creeping into her mind. The boy was innocent and pure. Could she really take the life of an innocent? Had she become so callous that she was willing to kill others to achieve her goal. Maybe she was no better than Naraku.

Kohaku looked at her. He sensed her unease and touched her hand as if to tell her that everything would be alright. It was what he wanted after all. He could not live with what he had done. Atoning by dying was easier than facing his sister.

Kikyou nodded. His reassurance gave her strength to do what must be done. The sooner Naraku died the sooner they could both pass from this world. They were walking dead. There was no place for them in this world.

Better that they finish what needed to be done so that they could find peace in the afterlife. She could only hope that their souls could be saved before the end. They both had endured hell on earth. There was no need for them to suffer any more.


	64. Going Home

Title: Going Home

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Away (Inuyasha Themes #16)

Word Count:200

CU

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyou

Warning: None

Genre: Redemption

Summary: Kikyou goes home

He bathed in the light. It warmed and soothed him even though he fought to retain his sorrow and anguish. The light was telling him that he need not cry for her anymore.

She was going to a better place. A place where she would no longer live with the pain and suffering that she had endured since she was untimely ripped from her rest.

She had never wanted to return. Having to live as one of the living dead. Using the souls of young girls merely to move her body. Filled with hate and thoughts of revenge.

All that was in the past. She was at peace at last. At the end she had finally become the person she had always wanted to be. She had reclaimed the humanity which had been stolen from her.

She was happy for the first time in her life because he had come for her. Although he had failed to protect her, she promised to watch over him.

And so as Kikyou's soul ascended , her light was emblazoned across the heavens for all to see. Inuyasha vowed that so long as he could draw a breath her light would never be extinguished.


	65. Closure

Title: Closure

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Thanks (Inuyasha Fanfic #204)

Characters: Kaede and Kikyou

Word Count:250

Warning: Character death Spoiler for Inuyasha Final Act Episode 8

Summary: Kaede is freed from pain by Kikyou

The vision faded and all that remained was a memory and a sunset the color of blood. Kikyou had come to say goodbye to the little sister she had left behind so many years ago. Although the vision portended her sister's death, Kaede felt at peace for the first time in fifty years.

In the vision she was a child again whose sister died in her arms. Kikyou knew what she had gone through. Dying had been the easy part. Kaede had lived through the nightmare all alone. Abandoned by her sister she was forced to live the life that had killed Kikyou..

Kikyou had told her that she was sorry. Sorry for everything that her little sister had endured because her sister felt that it was her duty to die to protect the Jewel. Sorry because she had left her little sister behind. with the memory of her own violent death.

Sorry could never make up for the hardships. Kikyou did not ask for forgiveness. Nothing could make up for the life Kaede had been forced to live. By saying goodbye Kikyou brought closure to the suffering that Kaede had gone through for her sake.

Kaede felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. No more would her have to cry for her sister. She had gone to better place where she did not to have to suffer anymore. Kaede could move on with her life. She need not suffer for Kikyou anymore. .Arigato gozaimashita, oneesama


	66. The Dawn on Funeral Day

Title: The Dawn on Funeral Day

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Dawn (The Wilted Rose #29)

Genre: Angst

Word Count:998

Warning: none

Summary: Dawn brings an end to Kikyou's wake and new uncertainties for Kaede

The air was so thick with smoke that it blotted out the rising sun. She had been dozing off during the night. One of the villagers who was standing guard over the shrine shook her. She looked startled and confused. Finally, she realized where she was.

Her sister lay atop the pyre hastily assembled for her cremation. Kaede herself had bathed the body and stuffed the cotton in the orifices. The wounds had been horrible. It had taken several hours to wash off the blood and clean the wounds. .

The villagers were amazed that she had been able to reach Goshinboku and kill Inuyasha before he escaped with the jewel. The villagers were angry both at Inuyasha for destroying the village and at Kikyou for allowing the hanyou access to the Jewel. The words " youkai whore" were being bandied about by the villagers within Kaede's hearing.

As Kikyou's only living relative Kaede had been expected to do much. She had to purify Kikyou by bathing her body. Clothes had to be found. The altar had to be assembled and food, incense and flowers placed upon it. Although Kaede had never performed funerary rites, she had seen Kikyou do them.

Everything had to be done just right. It did not help that their hut had been burned with rest of the village when Inuyasha had stolen the Jewel from the temple. Kaede had found a spare set of priestess robes which fit Kikyou.

She was amazed that the rosary that Kikyou had intended to use as a kotodama to subdue Inuyasha had not burned. It would prove helpful to her during the night to concentrate on the prayers for the dead.

Some villagers contributed the all black garments which she wore while concentrated on the rosary during the wake. Kaede had been too young when her parents died to need such clothing. Since she had no other relatives to mourn for she would never need to use them again.

The wake had been long and arduous. She had no other family to stand by her in her hour of need. The villagers distanced themselves from her. Her sister had been planning to live with the youkai. It was whispered that she had planned to let him use the Jewel.

They had all seen what the Jewel did. It drove youkai crazy. It was the justice of the kami that they had both died trying to be together. She was a miko. The servant of the kami. She should not have been consorting with the youkai.

All of them had suffered casualties because of the Jewel. Their miko had died because of it. The village had been burned to the ground by the youkai when he took the Jewel. Even the girl bore the marks of the sin by losing an eye.

They were well rid of the miko, the hanyou and the Jewel. The sooner they cremated the miko and Jewel the better off they would be. The youkai attacks would stop. They would not need to guard the Jewel anymore.

Some argued that the girl should be driven from the village since she was related to the fallen miko and was thus tainted by her blood. The headman stood against them and argued that she should be sent to the temple for training just like her sister had been. .

Kaede had scared out of her mind. The pyre had been illuminated by the fires burning in the village below and the campfires of the villagers guarding the shrine. This was first time that she had been without her sister. Alone in the dark she realized just much she was going to miss. her.

The Jewel itself hung from Kikyou's neck. The Jewel seemed to glow with pink, pure light. Kaede thought once or twice that she had felt an evil aura shadowing the pyre, but it seemed that the Jewel was so pure at this point that it would purify any evildoer who tried to possess it.

The headman had sent someone to the temple. They needed a shinken priest to perform the funerary rites over the fallen priestess. All believed that they were in danger until the priestess and the Jewel were properly put to rest.

They did not have time to wait for the normal mourning period. She needed to be cremated and properly buried now. They feared that Jewel would bring youkai. Unless the miko's spirit was pacified, it could become a vengeful ghost or be transformed into a youkai.

Kaede looked at her sister. Just yesterday morning she had seemed so happy when she left their hut. She had no relatives . Orphans were often left to starve by the roadside.

She knew that the villagers thought Kikyou was responsible for all that had happened. They fixed blame on her as the only living relative. The villagers had suffered so much. Who knew what they would do to her once the funeral was over and Kikyou's soul was pacified.

Kaede wondered if Kikyou's soul would ever be saved. She had been so distraught in her last moments. Blaming the Jewel for everything that had happened. The hanyou had killed her and yet she had tried to hug him before she crumpled to the ground and died in Kaede's arms.

It was an experience that Kaede would remember for the rest of her life. Kikyou's soul would not be pacified until Kagome saved her soul. Kikyou was finally able to give her guardianship of the Jewel and become an ordinary woman before she ascended.

In her heart Kaede would suffer for Kikyou's transgression for the next fifty years. At least Kikyou was able to find peace in death. Kaede's suffering began when Kikyou died and did not end until her spirit broke free of Urusuae's clay vessel. Only then did the little girl who sat in dark all night by her sister's pyre saying prayers on her sister's rosary find peace.


	67. O ye of little Faith

Title: O ye of little faith

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: R (language)

Prompt: Faith (The Wilted Rose #30)

Word Count:466

Genre: Rants

Warning: Character Deaths

Summary: Naraku complains

Naraku gazed as the last mourner left Kikyou's grave. It was not fair. He had done everything the Jewel had asked and more. The plan had come together perfectly. They both died thinking that the other had betrayed them. Yet the plan had failed utterly and now the Jewel was beyond his reach.

He had taken the form of the hanyou to mortally wound Kikyou. She had to believe that Inuyasha had betrayed her. All their vows were thrown back in her face as if he was mocking her. She must believe that he had been after the Jewel instead of wanting to be with her.

The Jewel had been in his hand. Yet it forced him to put it back in the shrine so that Inuyasha could steal it. It was still necessary to trick Inuyasha into stealing the Jewel. Kikyou would have to kill him to prevent this

That was a sop to Onigumo who wanted kill Inuyasha out of jealousy. It was ironic that Inuyasha's lover Kikyou would be the one to kill him. He knew that Onigumo would appreciate the irony.

All that the idiot girl had to do was wish to be alive and he could have killed her and taken the defiled Jewel. Instead, she allowed herself to die and be burned with the Jewel so that no evildoer could ever obtain its power. The plan went from success to failure in that instant. All his hopes for power up in smoke.

He had watched the pathetic bitch in her last moments. Crawling to the tree to hug the worthless hanyou. She had just killed him. How was he worth her life? It must be a woman thing. Who put such romantic claptrap in their heads? Why would anyone want to follow after their lover in death? Such as waste.

Kikyou. Dead Check. Inuyasha Dead Check. Jewel Gone. There was nothing to hold him here. He would have to wander aimlessly doing evil deeds biding his time until the Jewel reappeared in the world.

Defiling the Jewel had been the reason he had been born. The Jewel wanted him to prevent Kikyou from purifying it. It had promised him the power of the Jewel if he could obtain the defiled Jewel.

He had done everything it had asked. His reward was the knowledge that the two people who could have destroyed the Jewel were dead. This victory rang hollow. Without the defiled Jewel he had nothing.

He kicked the graveyard dust from his boots. The faithless fools deserved their deaths. If they had trusted each other, his plan never would have succeeded. He at least would stay true to Jewel no matter how much it had screwed him over. He had faith that he would be rewarded in the end.


	68. Rokudo

Title: Rokudo

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Reincarnation( The Wilted Rose#31)

Word Count: 1000

CU

Warning: None

Summary: Kikyou's life as seen through Rokudo

A/N Rokudo, means "six paths", a reference to the sixth paths to reincarnation, in other words the six ways you can be reincarnated, which are as a deva, an asura, a human, an animal, a hungry ghost, or simply sent to hell. I found an interesting article on the subject.

I. Human

Once upon a girl was born to a couple in Musashi. They had been told by the fortune tellers that they should name her "Kikyou" since the flower represented "eternal love" The irony of her name was not lost upon her or her master's chief acolyte, Tsubaki who continually reminded her that a miko was not allowed to love like other girls.

Her parents discovered her gift early and she was sent to the temple to train as a miko. Even then she was not allowed the simple childhood pleasures. Instead, she was raised to serve the kami through the rituals and the training of her powers. She was only allowed to return when her parents died to care for her sibling.

They wandered the byways in their training accepting only what they needed to survive. At last they returned to their home where she became the miko of her familial village. It should have been a time of peace. . Instead, it would lead to a loss of all semblance of her humanity.

II. Animal

The coming of the Jewel foreshadowed the death of her humanity. Her path became tainted with blood. She could purify the Jewel, but she could not purify herself. Forced to constantly fight she became little more than an animal. Her life consisted of one fight for survival after another.

It was appropriate that in the midst of this transformation came Inuyasha, a hanyou. Ashamed of his mother because of the weakness he had inherited from he wished only to rid himself of his heritage by becoming fully youkai. .

Her hunger for her lost humanity captured his heart and made him willing to cast aside his own dreams for hers so long as he did not have to be alone. He would become human for her. They would live together as husband and wife. But it was not to be. Both of them would lose their lives in the struggle, she was only allowed to choose the manner of her death.

III. Naraka

She had been prepared for the fires of hell when she directed Kaede to burn the Jewel with her body. The fire burned away all of the animalistic nature which had developed through her association with the Jewel. At last she was able to find peace. The Jewel had granted her wish to end the fighting.

Her soul was at peace knowing that she had carried the Jewel to place where evil doers could not use it for their nefarious purposes. She had done her job as Guardian of the Jewel. Purifying it, protecting it and in the end giving her life for it.

The Jewel was not willing to remain quiet. It felt her lingering affection for Inuyasha This lingering affection caused the Jewel to be reborn with Kikyou when her soul was reincarnated in the body of Kagome. It was not willing to remain in Hell when festering problems created by the Jewel remained unresolved. .

IV. Hungry Ghost.

When Inuyasha spoke her name she was reborn. She had not wanted to be reborn, but once reborn she knew that she would not find peace again in the afterlife until the one who had betrayed her was dead. Once Inuyasha was dead she would return to Kagome's body and sleep for eternity.

But Kagome would not allow it. She saved Inuyasha, but taking back most of the soul which had gone into Kikyou. Kikyou refused to die while Inuyasha still walked the earth. Her anger caused her to use the souls of dead girls to power her body made of clay. She thought she could take Inuyasha to hell with her and then she would have peace, but Kagome still would not let him go.

In a last desperate attempt to rid herself of the person who had interfered with her efforts she attempted to kill Kagome . Inuyasha quashed that attempt by saving Kagome. Kikyou transferred her crusade for revenge to Naraku Only by giving the Jewel to Naraku and purifying could he and Jewel be destroyed.

V. Asura

Naraku had proved too much for revived Kikyou. He had been willing to remove his human heart which cared for Kikyou in order to strike her down. Although she had survived she was still mortally wounded. Even Kagome could not purify her She was driven to desperate measures to give her time to destroy Naraku.

Midoriko was a miko who was killed by youkai. They were alike souls. Fighters against demons who would stop at nothing to destroy the evil. Kikyou used her soul to heal the false body. Together they had a purpose of destroying Naraku and the Jewel. They would use anyone and anything to complete the task even if meant destroying an innocent like Kohaku.

In the end they failed. Midoriko's effort to destroy the youkai had resulted in the loosing of the Jewel upon the world. Kikyou's efforts resulted in her death. Naraku was still alive. The Jewel was nearly complete. All her efforts had only brought Naraku closer to victory.

VI. Deva

It was only by losing her powers that she regained her humanity. The powers which she had been so proud of served a better purpose to maintain the light in the Jewel and within Kohaku's shard. In the end it was this light which Kikyou had sacrificed to maintain which killed Naraku and restored Kohaku to life.

As she ascended she knew that her suffering was ended. All her jealousy, envy and hate was gone. All that she knew was peace, joy and understanding. The peace of the not striving anymore. The joy of knowing one moment of earthly happiness. The understanding of what love truly was.

At last she had reached the point on the wheel of reincarnation when there was nothing that she needed or desired. Someday she would reach Nirvana. Until then she would accept her karma. For now she was truly Kikyou.


	69. Slipping Away

Title: Slipping Away

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Seal

Word Count: 299

Genre: Perils of Pauline

Warning:None

Summary: Kikyou chooses to slip away from Inuyasha

She dangled from the cliff Held only by the man she loved. The man she hated. Even as he saved her, he asked her to go back into Kagome. He had saved her only to ask her to die.

She had been dead. Had begged him not to say her name. Yet once he had she knew that she would not find peace until she took the life of her betrayer.

Surely, he saw that. Yet as she looked into his eyes, she saw only love and a deep sense of loss. Once he learned that she would die if she went back into Kagome, they both knew that he could not ask her to do that.

The alternatives were few. If she allowed him to save her, she would return to Kagome and die. If she purified him, she would fall off the cliff. Her anger got the better of her. She was not going back. If she died of the fall so be it.

She glowed with an angry pink glow as her powers flowed into Inuyasha. He screamed as his clothes and body burned. Try as he might he could not hold onto her any longer. She slipped from his grasp.

He stared dumbfounded at her as she plummeted toward the river far below. For her part she did not cry out and maintained her defiant visage until she finally disappeared into the mist.

He wondered how it had come to this point. . Just when he found her again she slipped through his fingers leaving a hole in his heart.

The two of them were never fated to be together in this life or the next. They were like matches which were hot when ignited, but quickly burned themselves out leaving nothing but ash.


	70. All Our Tomorrows

Title: All Our Tomorrows

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: M

Prompt: Ready (Issekiwa #94)

Word Count: 250

Genre: Slap and Tickle

Warning: pre- wedding romp in the river

Summary: Inuyasha and Kikyou show each other what they want

She was so beautiful. Pouring the water over herself to purify herself clad only in her shift. He watched as each drop of water slowly dripped down her body. If only he could be one of those drops of water.

In one day that body would be his. Then he could touch, kiss, and caress every part of her body. Just as he had always wanted from the moment that she had stole his heart.

She was a miko. He was a hanyou. They could not be together. If he was human and she was an ordinary woman then they could be together as husband and wife.

Tomorrow she would be his. , but tomorrow was too late. He was ready now. Creeping up behind her, he grabbed her around the waist and kissed her eagerly on the neck.

After the initial surprise she toppled them both into the icy water. She gasped as he pulled her up They clung to each other hungrily. He could feel every curve of her body caressing him as her wet clothing clung to her body. It left him begging for more. He could feel that she wanted him as much he wanted her.

Finally, she broke the embrace with a laugh. " Now see what you have done I must purify myself all over again. We will have all the time in the world tomorrow. Tonight I must concentrate on purifying myself and the Jewel."

Inuyasha did not care. He was ready now.


	71. O Promise Me

Title: O Promise Me

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Promise (The Wilted Rose #33)

Genre: Wedding Vows

Word Count:437

Warning: None

Summary: Inuyasha reflects on promises made and promises broken after Kikyou's revival

He stared into the sky. Her death had broken his spirit. She had been so angry, so hateful. Not that he could blame her for her anger. He had felt the same way when he was revived. That was why he had clung to her even as she lashed out at him. He understood.

So many promises. Husband and wife. Becoming human. Living together. It was like remembering a dream that you had been part of and waking up to discover that reality was a nightmare.

Yesterday everything seemed possible. His promises of love and marriage which she had stilled on his lips were to become true. A simple wish and all their dreams would come true. A fairy tale ending to their lonely lives of endless fighting.

He had sympathized with her plight. The Jewel brought nothing but hardship and emptiness to her. He had been deluded into thinking the Jewel could bring him power. Instead, he had found her. Together they could fulfill the promises which they could not bring themselves to utter.

She was not angry because she thought he had killed her. It was not even about the fact that he had stole the Jewel. Her anger was about the promises. She had relied on the promises. They had become her guiding light. If she could just fight through to the promised day, she would not have to fight anymore.

She would be an ordinary woman. He would be her husband. She would bear his children. They would have a . Something that neither of them had ever had. All they had before was the endless loneliness. It was that look of loneliness that she had given him that stolen his heart.

She might not believe him, but he had wanted that future. Having a home and family. Someone to call his own. Better to take on mortality than to continue his life alone. He knew he loved her.

More than anything in the world he had wanted to make her happy. He could feel what she wanted. A home. A family. A husband. A life together. He wanted it, too. He had not regrets about the promises. If it had come true, they would have lived happily ever after.

But fairy tales did not come true. Instead of the fairy tale, they had both died at the end. Bitter that the dream had not come true and the promises had not been kept. All she had was hate for him and all he had was a sense of loss about dreams that would never come true. How had it come to this?


	72. Shot Through the Heart

Title: Shot Through the Heart

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Sacred Arrow (The Wilted Rose Week #34)

Word Count: 741

Genre: Death in the Afternoon

Warning: Character Deaths

Summary: Kikyou changes the course of history with her shot

" Again, Again. Again." screamed Tsubaki. The snotty little shrine girl would not escape her wrath. She would suffer for taking her master's favor from her. By the time she got through with Kikyou she would wish she had never been born.

" You must pull the sacred power from deep within yourself. That is how you arm the arrows. You must be convinced of the righteousness of your cause. Any doubt or lack of faith in your mission will cause the arrows to misfire."

"You must believe that you are the servant of the kami. They will be satisfied with nothing less than the destruction of their enemies. The purification that you crave will be achieved only when the youkai are ash."

"Purity is not about being truth, justice or goodness. Even a kuromiko can draw on the sacred power. It is about doing the will of the kami. If you fail, it is because you are weak. You do not have the faith and fortitude necessary to be a true miko"

"Is that you Kikyou?. Are you weak? Are you willing to sacrifice your life, your life and your hopes to carry out the will of the kami? Show me what you are made of. Show me that you are willing to give up everything in your life so that you can carry out their will by destroying their enemies."

"There is no place for weak sisters who want love, home and family. Those are the ordinary women who birth the babies and live in squalid conditions dependent on their husbands for their livelihood"

"Are you willing to give up all that? Do you feel the burn inside of you that a true miko feels when she is drawing on her purifying powers? Feel the anger. Feel the rage. Feel your enemy shiver in terror? Is that you Kikyou or shall we find another to serve the kami?"

Tsubaki smirked with satisfaction. She could feel the rage building inside of Kikyou. It was burning away all desire for the things which other women craved. She knew she had succeeded.

This one was one of the best. Soon not even she or her master would be to stand against this one. The kami had chosen well. The target exploded in a shower of pink light.

Kikyou knew she was dying, but she had one last duty. The hanyou must die for his actions. The kami would be appeased by . She must kill him before he died or he would escape with the jewel. How could she stand before the kami if she failed in her task as guardian of the Jewel?

She could feel the rage building inside of her. Despite her injuries her powers were unaffected.

As soon as the hanyou came in range she would fire. In her condition she would have only one shot. She had no doubt. Her arrow always hit the mark, purifying all evil in its wake.

The hanyou was flying before her, but failed to see her. Normally she was a silent killer. The circumstances required to scream before she fired. " As she screamed " Die Inuyasha": she faltered. The purification power within the arrow was altered by her mental state.

She did not want to kill Inuyasha. He was her lover. The man who would have been her husband and the father of her children. She could not bear to see him again in this world or the next. Only one path suggested itself in that split second of doubt.

She must seal him. The arrow would suspend him between life and death. They would never meet again in this world or the next. She knew that she must take the Jewel to the netherworld beyond the reach of evil persons. .

The arrow flew true into his heart. He had only a moment of surprise that she could do this to him before he succumbed to the power of the arrow. She had an eternity of sorrow and regrets. to live with before she could die as he hung just beyond her reach.

She had served the kami to the end. Through her actions she ensured that the Jewel was placed beyond the reach of evil, that her lover was where he needed to be when she returned and that the love which they had was truly eternal triumphing over time and death itself.


	73. Helpless

Title: Helpless

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Soften (Issekiwa #97)

Genre: No Justice for the Dead

Word Count:250

Warning: None

Summary: Kikyou is bitter about Kagome's hold on Inuyasha

Life was not fair. She had done everything in her power to protect the Sacred Jewel. Killed her lover to prevent him from stealing it. Had herself burned with the Jewel to place the Jewel beyond the reach of evildoers. Sacrificed everything that she ever wanted. And for what.

Inuyasha had been revived by her reincarnation. He already cared for that girl more than her. She could see that he was a changed man. The girl had softened him. He trusted her. His eyes were warm when he looked at her. All the things she had wanted to do if she had lived.

Instead, she was left with a soul filled with hate. Although she could now show Inuyasha all the things she wanted to do with him, it was already too late. Her clay body was clay and smelled of bones and graveyard soil. She had to use the souls of young girls to move.

All she could offer him was death. The only place they could be together was in hell. She had offered him eternity. Instead, he had left her for her reincarnation as soon as spell was lifted. She had abused his trust by placing him under the spell to take him to hell while he was embracing her.

He said that her appearance did not make any difference, but his actions showed otherwise. He clearly preferred the woman healed his heart. She was doomed to watch as the man she loved moved toward another woman.


	74. Beyond the Sunset

Title: Beyond the Sunset

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Sunset (The Wilted Rose #35)

Genre: Dying of the Light

Word Count:297

Warning: None

Summary: Kikyou's battles

They had always been warned by the master to pick their ground. The time of day was always a part of their ground. Demons drew their power from the darkness just as mikos drew their power from the light. Sunset was the edge of darkness.

. She depended upon the greed and selfishness of the demons. Demons normally could not resist the lure of the Jewel. It maddened them and made them lose the blood of ice. She never lost her calm. That was her advantage. The demons must never see beyond her steel veneer.

Today had been different. Lured into the forest, she had been ambushed. The attacks started as soon as she was deep enough into the forest to cut off the light. It had rained throughout the fight. The sky had been dark and foreboding. The darkness had only been pierced by the aura of purity from her arrows.

They came in waves. Not afraid to die just to allow their compatriots the opportunity to strike down the miko and take the Jewel. In the end she had been victorious because her resolve was greater than theirs. She simply refused to give up and die.

She looked at her handiwork through eyes blinded by rain. Demon corpses were everywhere. Her clothes were wet, dirty and covered with blood. The consolation was that the blood was not her own.

She sighed. The days were blending together. Every day brought attacks worse than the last. She was tired, wet and cold. Someday she would not be so lucky. On that day she would die a horrible death knowing that all her efforts to protect the Jewel had been in vain. Luckily, that day had not been today and she would live to see another sunrise.


	75. The Breath of Life

Title: The Breath of Life

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Favorite Character

Word Count 1140

Pairing: Kohaku(dead)/ Kikyou's light

Genre: Even a zombie needs love

Warning: Character death

Summary: Kikyou gives Kohaku back his life

One minute he had a future. His sister had said it was OK for him to live. He felt a sudden sharp pain and then nothing only darkness.

He awoke because the light was so bright that it was impossible to keep his eyes shut. Finally when his eyes fluttered open he blinked involuntarily, blinded by the light.

"Wake up Kohaku. We do not have time for you to lie about"

Kohaku sat up and shaded his eyes. The voice sounded so familiar. So formal. So authoritative So forceful.

As he looked closer, the shape began to take focus. He gasped as the familiar garb of the priestess became visible. Kikyou was dead. That could mean only one thing.

"Am I dead, Kikyou?"

The figure hesitated before answering " I am not Kikyou. I am that part of Kikyou which was left in the shard when she purified it."

Kohaku digested the answer and pursued his original query. " Am I dead?"

The being laughed and flickered at the same time. The effect was almost lyrical. " It is hard for me to tell I have never been alive or dead. I am merely an echo of what Kikyou was not Kikyou."

"How is it that I can see you now? I have never seen you before"

" I have been with you since the first moment that my mistress touched you Maybe your perspective has changed."

Perspective. He had been before. Maybe he was dead now. His time with Naraku has shown him if nothing else that dead was not dead.

"Do you know where Kikyou is?"

"My mistress let go of her attachment to this world. She has ascended. I remain in this world to do what must be done for her."

Kohaku thought for a moment Kikyou had placed her light in Kohaku for the purpose of killing Naraku. When he first realized this, he tried to use this knowledge to kill Naraku. He had failed miserably. Everyone had chided him for his rash behavior. Kagome told him not to waster Kikyou's light.

It was faith in the mission that Midoriko had given him that caused him to accompany Kikyou. Being with a dead person was actually comforting. Knowing that she intended to use him to kill Naraku had given him a sense of purpose.

A chance to atone for all that he had done on behalf of Naraku. When Kikyou died he felt lost. Discovering that her light remained in the shard connected him to Kikyou again. He could complete that task that she and Midoriko had set out with him.

Now the task was at an end. The shard was gone. As soon he awoke he knew that he was dead. He had been to hell. This place did not resemble hell in the least. Where was he?

" I am sorry that I failed Kikyou. I was not able to kill Naraku with the light in the shard."

"I know I was there. We came so close, but that is not why I am here now. Kikyou wishes to make amends. She used your shard to try to kill Naraku knowing that it would kill you."

"I did it willingly and would do it again." cried Kohaku

"I think that is what troubled her most. She felt that she was leading you like a lamb to the slaughter. You went without fear and without reservation. She was the one who faltered. There were always excuses not to use your shard. She was always willing to let Inuyasha try to kill Naraku even though she knew that a sword could not kill him"

"She should not worry about me. My only regret is that I died without carrying my mission."

" She heard your prayer."

"What prayer?"

"Your prayer to your sister. You asked her if it was OK to live. This is her answer to your prayer That is why I am here. You gave your life to Kikyou to try to kill Naraku. In order to atone Kikyou must give that life back to you."

"You must be realize how important you are to Kikyou. If you had come to her when she was alive she would have healed your soul. Instead, she was willing to trade your life for Naraku's. If you die now, Kikyou's soul will never find peace."

" Why? What of our mission? What of Narkau? Was it all in vain?"

"Do you think it was in vain, Kohaku? Do you think all your efforts to kill Narkau were unappreciated by Kikyou? She felt kinship with you which is why the mission bothered her.

In life she was willing to carry it through to the end, but she has passed on. Others must bear the responsibility for the will step forward and deliver the final blow. The light in the Jewel still glows even though Narkau thinks that he had won. That is our advantage. Who has won will not be revealed until he is dead."

" Did Kikyou suffer when she died?"

"Kikyou was happy when she died. She was in the arms of the man she loved. They kissed and he told her that he loved her before she passed."

" Did Kikyou leave a message for me?"

The shimmering woman nodded and stepped forward. She pulled Kohaku into her arms and kissed him on the lips. It seemed to him that she was giving him back the breath of life.

"I give you back your life. Live Kohaku."

With that the woman slowly merged with Kohaku until there was nothing but a glow to his own body. He felt himself falling toward the earth and reached out to steady himself.

When he touched the earth he heard voices. He was in his sister's arms. Slowly he opened his eyes. Sango, Inuyasha and Kagome all stared at him in amazement as if they never seen anyone brought back from the dead.

Kohaku was subdued as they flew back to Kaede's village. He realized that Kikyou had given him his . Her light had become his life. He would not waste that life that had been given him.

Although his sister might try to prevent him from going to the last battle, he knew that he needed to go. Kikyou was now a part of him. He knew that she would want to be there to witness the light kill Naraku

For now he would burn incense at her grave to thank her for what she had done and to promise her that he would not waste the life she had given him. Her sacrifice would not be in vain. Narkau would die and the mission would be complete. Her soul could be at peace at last.


	76. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Title: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: The Wilted Rose (The Wilted Rose #37)

Genre: Fanon Fantasies about Kagome's wish to allow IY and Kikyou to live happily ever after

Word Count: 578

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kikyou

Warning: Character Deaths and non births

Summary: Possible results of a common fanon theme : What would have happened if IY and Kikyou had made their wish and Naraku had never been born?:

The stupid girl had finally ruined it. They had beaten Naraku. She could have found peace. But no the stupid girl could not leave well enough alone. Somehow she had made the wrong wish.

The worst part was that she had not let any of them know. All of them could have given her input on the right wish. Instead, she had taken the entire burden for the wish on herself.

She could have made the wish that Kikyou had suggested to Inuyasha. Fearing that was too selfish a wish, she had chosen a more generic solution. She had wished that Naraku had never been born.

The results were immediate. Kikyou and Inuyasha gazed in horror as their bodies became human.

Unfortunately, Kikyou was now a 69-year-old human while Inuyasha was now a 250-year-old human.

Kikyou cursed herself as the man she loved died in her arms. It was horrible to watch him shrivel and die. Though his last words were of love for her, she would always blame herself for his death as much as she had the first time.

It was all her fault. She should have known that the jewel only granted cursed wishes. Instead of making Inuyasha a young man, it had fixed his human age the same as his actual age.

She thought of following after him, but he had begged her not to. Her first death had caused him so much guilt. It would too much to burden his soul in the afterlife.

Her only hope was that they would meet again in another life. A life where they were not burdened by the Jewel.

When Inuyasha finally died, it finally hit her. The Jewel was lying on the ground where Kagome had stood when she made the wish. The girl from the future was no place to found.

None of the other companions were present either. Kikyou supposed that their lives continued or did not continue as they would have if Naraku had never been born.

None of his friends would have ever have met. Who knows if the monk would have been born if not for Naraku? The girl had only been reincarnated with the Jewel in her body because of her own desire to see Inuyasha again.

For a moment, she contemplated suicide so that she could follow after Inuyasha. She dismissed such thoughts when her sister approached her to assist with Inuyasha's burial.

Her sister had fifty years of anguish to deal with as a result of her following after Inuyasha the first time. She had given up her life to become a priestess because Kikyou could not live without Inuyasha.

She would not do that again. The sisters would live out their remaining years together. This time Kaede would take care of her instead of the other way around

The Jewel would have to be disposed of one way or another. Although it seemed inert after the wish, the youkai would come after it. She and Kaede were elderly women and could not fight them as she once.

She stared at the Jewel. It had brought her nothing, but pain and misery. She wished that she had never been given the Jewel to guard. To her horror the Jewel pulsed.

The youkai slayers finding Kikyou not at home in the village decided to approach the second person listed as possible Jewel guardian by the temple master. They would have to find Tsubaki.


	77. Dying Embers

Title: Dying Embers

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Ember

Word Count:250

Genre: Funeral Dirges

Warning: Character Death

Summary: Kaede watches Kikyou's funeral pyre burn itself out.

The ray of the morning sun illuminated the smouldering embers of the funeral pyre. Soon there would be nothing left but ash. She had watched the pyre in fascination and horror as her sister turned from a beautiful young woman to the glowing embers that remained

The fire had been beautiful and terrifying. More than once she had wanted to leap into the inferno and rescue Kikyou from the doom which awaited her. Now it was too late. The coals, the smoke, and the ashes were all that remained of her sister.

When the embers cooled the priest would come to collect her and place her ashes in the urn prepared for burial. A few words would be said for her and then she would be returned to the earth.

She would join the millions of ancestors who watched over mankind not the big sister who loved her and cared for her People who never cared for her in life would come and pray at her shrine. Where were they before she died?

Once the fire was dead, her sister would truly be gone. The thought of going on without her was truly terrifying. She stirred the fire hoping to keep the embers burning for a little longer. At last she screamed what had been in her heart all night.

"How could you leave me, big sister?", but Kikyou had vanished in the flames and would never return to her. There was no one left to hear her cries.


	78. The Stars in Her Eyes

Title: The Stars in Her Eyes

Author: landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt: Stars

Word Count: 300

Genre: Star Struck

Warning: None

Summary: Inuyasha reflects on Kikyou

When he looked at her now, she had stars in her eyes. He remembered a time when she gave him that look of utter loneliness. That was the day he first felt that he had done something wrong. That was the day she stole his heart.

His goal since had been to erase that look. To right every wrong in her life. To make her smile.

To be her knight in shining armor. .If she needed someone to fight her battles he was there. To that end he had begun to follow her around like a puppy.

He was always there watching over her whether she was gathering herbs or playing games with the children. Only at night did he leave her alone. The villagers must not know of them yet lest they turn on her as they had his mother

One moment of intimacy had changed everything. The look of want she gave him when he held left no doubt in his mind. When she fell into his arms, he knew that he loved her and never wanted to let her go. He had eagerly confessed his love and offered to become human so that they could marry.

He would do anything to make her happy. If being human would make her happy he would be human. If living together as husband and wife would make her happy then they would be married. If it was her wish to stop the fighting he was in favor of it.

She was the beginning and the end. If she was happy, he was happy. That look of utter loneliness may have stolen his heart, but he never wanted to see it again. He would make sure that she was never lonely again and the stars would always shine in her eyes.


	79. No Rest for the Wicked

Title No Rest for the Wicked

Author landofthekwt

Rating T

Prompt Doing Nothing (Inuyasha #22

Genre: The Goals of Dead Career Women

Word Count 680

Warning None

Summary Kikyou realizes that she cannot stay in the Temple after the Illusory Death

She had told Naraku that if he wanted to find her, she would be at the temple. The temple was not for her anymore. It was for virginal miko who learned from the masters how to remain pure and true to the kami. Once she had been one of them, but not anymore. She was a golem. A being forged from bones and graveyard soil.

The oni who had created had tried to bend her to her will in order to create the jewel. Kikyou followed no path but her own. .Her first act was to kill her creator. Urasuae thought that she would be grateful for giving her life, but Kikyou had made the decision to die to end the fighting over the Jewel. Inuyasha, Kagome and Urasuae brought her back to life to face the same fight that she had

Urasuae had been the first to wrath, but the anger her soul felt when she died spilled out against Inuyasha, her would-be betrayer. His betrayal ran deeper since she has dared hope for a husband and a family. A life beyond the fighting to protect the Jewel. All that had been dashed by his betrayal. She had hoped that he would choose to die with her. Instead he chose to live with his reincarnation. The betrayal was complete and she knew that she could never be with him again.

Her instinct to play with the children and heal the wounded followed her wherever she went. Even though she was dead, she seemed compelled to perform these acts of kindness. She found it ironic that although she was driven to help children and the wounded she had no qualms about using the souls of dead girls to her own ends, had left Inuyasha to his fate in the Kodakhu and the Illusionary Death and actually tried to kill Kagome. .

For some reason what she had done and what she would need to kill Naraku did not bother her the way that it would have when she was a pure miko and the guardian of the sacred jewel. Her purpose in finding Naraku had been to discover his nature and determine the best method of killing him. The sooner she finished the task that the better. Then she could rest again. For the moment she needed to concentrate on getting Naraku the Jewel so that she could purify him and Jewel.

She would do anything that needed to be done to complete her task. If that meant killing Kagome or using the souls of dead girls to move she would do it. If it meant that Naraku would become more powerful because of his possession of the Jewel, so be it. There was only one route to victory and no one not even Inuyasha would stand in her way. She did not have time to save him. He would have to save himself from Naraku.

The soldiers in the camp saw her as angel of mercy. Little did they know that she was actually a monster more vicious and deadly than any they had ever seen. She would not disabuse them. They only saw the miko devoting her life to heal them. For the moment she could pretend to be the woman she once had been. It filled in the time and allowed her function in society until she completed her task.

She had lost her humanity when she died. All she had left was a drive to complete the task that she thought she had completed when she took the Jewel from the World. Kagome had brought her soul and the Jewel back to this world where they had fought before. She had wanted to find peace in death. Now she could only rest when the Jewel was gone from the world. Then she could sleep forever.


	80. A Mother's Gift

Title A Mother's Gift

Author landofthekwt

Rating K+

Word Count 940

Prompt Heirloom (Inuyasha Fanfic#22

Pairing Inuyasha/Kikyou

Summary Inuyasha prepares to give his mother's compact to Kikyou

He stared at the compact. What was he thinking? He had never done anything like this before. But Kikyou was not like anyone he had ever met since his mother.

That look that she had given him of utter loneliness made him feel guilt. A feeling that again he had not felt since his mother died. That look had so reminded him of him his mother.

There were times when his mother thought no one was looking that she would stare in the sky with that wistful look in her eyes. When he would ask her what she was thinking about she would shake her head and smile as if nothing was wrong.

But he had known. She had that same look on her face every time she told him about his father. No matter how she made his father into a great and glorious warrior there was something else A loneliness. A wistfulness. A wish that things had been different. A desire to have him with her. Something that could never happen in this life.

Just as his mother's heart was somewhere else. Kikyou had never been allowed to have a heart. Never allowed to be human. Never allowed to be a woman. He wished that he could change that look on her face. Do something that would make her smile.

He remembered once when his mother was painting her lips with the compact he had told her how beautiful she was. Her smile had been instantaneous and radiant. Her hugs had always made him squeal and were still his happiest momentsr. She would envelop him with her sleeves and hold him to her body.

He always felt safe and warm with her. Nothing could ever hurt him so long as she was there. When she died, he had been devastated. He had been rudely escorted out of the castle gates wearing nothing but the robes of the fire rat.

He would have taken anything to remind him of her. All he could find was the compact still lying on a mirror where she had left it when she had painted her lips the day before she died.

It was all he had left of her. The robe of the fire rat had been made for his "shichigosan" even though the temple officials had barred him from participating. It was his robe. She had merely fashioned it

Was he willing to give up his last link to the past? His link to his mother and happier times. He wondered what his mother would she approve of Kikyou? He had never really thought about any girl since his mother died. The idea that Kikyou might replace his mother in his heart had no appeal to him.

On the other hand, the compact was just a thing. It held memories of his mother, but would not bring her back to him. He could let go of it without letting go of the memories of his mother.

The compact itself might do some good. It might right the wrong that he had done in scorning Kikyoui's overtures to him. He did not realize how wrong he had been until she looked at him with a look of utter loneliness.

She had reached out to him and he had thrown her words back in her face. Maybe it was because he had not trusted anyone since his mother died. Maybe it was because the words struck close to home.

She was right. He fought his humanity with every breath. His mother's humanity shamed him. It reminded that he was neither human nor demon. Her blood made him the dog-eared hanyou that he was and he hated her for it.

Mikos were not allowed to marry or have children. His mother had known love and children. He had always felt her love for him. Although Kikyou's sad look reminded him of his mother, they differed in so many respects. His mother wore many different colorful and expensive kimonos while Kikyou wore the garb of a priestess

Kikyou was skillful in fighting while his mother was a woman of peace. Kikyou had mentioned that she wished that she could stop fighting and live a normal life. That would only happen if the jewel was gone.

Until it was gone, Kikyou would be forced to live a life that deprived her of her humanity that stripped her of her compact could help give her back her femininity. It had always made his mother beautiful. Surely it would work its magic on Kikyou. She would feel like a woman again and reclaim part of her humanity.

He was sure that his mother would approve. She had always made him feel loved. He was never the hated hanyou when he was with her. She would not want him to hang onto her compact for sentimental reasons when giving it as gift would do so much good.

He replaced the compact in his haori and headed out for the meeting with Kikyou. His heart sang as he flew the trees. Something told him that he was doing the right thing. The gift of compact would make Kikyou smile and erase that look of utter loneliness.

He was looking forward to meeting her. The last meeting had changed their relationship. He had been so moved by her that he had promised to give her a gift..

It was not so much that he was giving away his heirloom. He was giving back the love his mother had for him to another. Somewhere he knew that his mother was smiling and telling him he was a good boy.


	81. Burying the Dead

Title Burying the Dead

Author landofthekwt

Rating PG-13

Prompt Bury (Issekiwa 113)

Genre Jolly Grave diggers

Word Count 250

CU

Warning Character death

Summary Kaede ponders her sister's death

Kaede handed Inuyasha a bowl of stew. It seemed strange not to be hearing about Kikyou's last moments here in her hut and not at the shrine, but maybe not. Kikyou had ascended. The shrine was no longer a grave but an empty tomb. Kikyou was no longer there.

The simple meal felt more like a celebration rather than a wake. The burden she felt ever since her sister was resurrected was lifted. She smiled. Kikyou had said not to cry any more. In death they all had finally found peace.

Kaede felt almost selfish. Kikyou's pain had been her pain. Kikyou's death had killed life for her. With the passing of her big sister, she finally was at peace with herself. If sister had lived, her life would have been so much different, but she was not going waste any more time on "could-have beens."

She looked over at Inuyasha. The burden of caring for Kikyou had been taken from him also. He could finally live again. No longer would he feel that his life belonged to Kikyou. She could already see him embracing his life with Kagome. That was way it should be. Life was for the living.

She pondered Kikyou's last words. " I will always watch over you." If gave her comfort that Kikyou was still there protecting them. She was not really gone. Someday they would be together doing the things that sisters did. Goodbye and thank you, big sister, until we meet again.


	82. Just Fade Away

Title Just Fade Away

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt Calm (Unsung Heros #9)

POV Kouchou and Asuka

Word Count 298

Warning Character Death

Summary Kikyou's Shikigami face the end calmly

Kikyou had no strength to lend them. They could feel her. She had revived them for one last Kohaku. Yet soon they would fail. The power that Kikyou had lent them was fading Naraku's incarnation was correct. Soon the barrier would fall. Kohaku would be captured. The shard would fall. Their deepest regret was that they failed Kikyou.

It was she had given them a soul. She that animated them. It was she that they loved They would obey her commands without was not painful They were after all only paper dolls. But they were more. They were Kikyou's shikigami. Serving her was all they lived for. No task was too big or small. They did not love Inuyasha, but the mistress did. If she needed him they would fetch him. They had not believed that Kagome would save Kikyou because she hated her, but knowing that she was their mistress only hope they had fetched her.

When she revived them they knew this was the end. Kikyou would not survive the web of miasma in which she was caught. When Kikyou died they would die also, They protected Kohaku because Kitkyou was tainted and could not protect the shard. As Kikyou faded, they began to fade also. .

At the end they could do nothing against Byakuya, but tell Kohaku to run. They knew that their existence would end and that given Kikyou's condition they would never see her again in this world. Even at the end they were calm and did not waver even as his magic swept them away. They maintained their link to Kikyou to end, thanking her for bringing them to life and giving them the opportunity to serve her. Their only regret was that they had failed their mistress.


	83. All Shindamachuu Go To Heaven

Title All Shindamachuu Go to Heaven

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt Welcome (Issekiwa #114)

Genre Happy Endings

Word Count 250

Warning Character Death

Summary Kikyou arrives in the afterlife

The kami in charge of greeting newly arrived souls carefully checked his morning agenda. Today was an important day for him. An important soul was arriving today. Everyone would be watching him. Please no screw ups.

The neon sign should be flashing "OKAERI KIKYOU" Half the bulbs were out and only I KIK U was lit. A call would have to be made to maintenance.

He opened her welcome packet and gasped. It was empty. There should be an information packet explaining the afterlife and her assignment Heads would roll.

There was a pounding at the front gate. He looked up to see dozens of soul collectors trying to force the gate open. Only Kikyou was scheduled today. Why were they here? Security would have to be called.

Security finally managed to force the soul collectors away after depositing their cargo. . To think that these filthy demons actually touched pure souls. He shuddered at the thought.

He was at loss. Dozens of young girls were milling aimlessly in front of his desk. The din became overwhelming Finally he screamed " IS KIKYOU HERE?"A young women dressed in a miko's garb was pushed to the front.

She looked dazed " Is this the afterlife?"

He smiled "Okaeri, Kikyou I am your guide to the afterlife. Everything will be explained in orientation. I have one question. Who are these girls?"

Kikyou smiled " These girls helped me complete my task. I promised them heaven. No one gets left behind.".


	84. Maid of the Mist

Title: Maid of the Mist

Author landofthekwt

Rating K+

Prompt Mist (Inuyasha Themes #

Word Count 392

Genre She's Back

Pairing Sesshoumaru/Kikyou

Warning None

Summary Kikyou returns only to run into Sesshoumaru

Kikyou strode out of the mists of the woods. She came to a familiar place. Before that day fifty four years ago it had been just another tree to her. On that day it became the place where she and Inuyasha had shared a bond of love and death. That wound would never heal.

So much had happened since that day. Death. Hell. Oblivion. Reincarnation. Resurrection. Dead Again Ascension. Assignment Redux. The afterlife was not what she imagined.

When she had awakened in the afterlife, she had been surprised to learn that her dying promise to Inuyasha was now her duty. One should be careful with one's promises even when one is dying.

Although the promise had been made with all sincerity at the time, she thought it merely a good intention. The Kami had thought otherwise. The promise had become her first assignment

Inuyasha's life belonged to her. She had someone to protect. That protection extended to Kagome, the woman who had saved her soul and to their progeny.

Her thoughts were disturbed by a massive wave of youki. She turned around to see Sesshoumaru towering over her menacingly.

"Miko. What are you doing here?"

Kikyou blinked " You can see me?"

He touched Tenseiga and studied her. Inuyasha's dead miko yet not dead. The scent of death was gone. Divine power instead of holy power. She was not of this world, but Tenseiga did not wish to be drawn. Since she had once saved Rin, he decided not to attack."Why are you here?""

Kikyou bowed " I have been sent back to fulfill my dying promise to Inuyasha to watch over him and protect him and his family. I am not a threat to you or anyone else so long as they do not attack him or his family. Why are you here, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

" I protect Rin."

Kikyou mulled this over and responded " Would you like me to watch Rin when you cannot be here. I am always here. I have nowhere else to go and all the time in the world. You are certainly welcome to watch with me whenever you come to visit Rin. I would appreciate the company.'

"Hn" Sesshoumaru nodded. So long as she kept her mouth shut, she would certainly be better company than his brother and his wife or Jaken.


	85. Yesterday's Children

Title Yesterday's Children

Author landofthekwt

Prompt Sad Smile (Inuyasha Fan Fic #198)

Word Count 250

Characters Kikyou/ Kouchou and Asuka

Warning Character Death?

Summary Kikyou's shikigami

She stared at the paper dolls in her hand. That is all they were after all. It was she that breathed life into them. Not alive or dead. Just paper dolls.

Why did she feel a sense of loss? Why did it hurt when Kohaku dispatched them with one sweep of his sickle? It was not like they were dead.

With one wave of her hand they would come alive again, ready and willing to carry out her wishes, thinking nothing of themselves but only of her.

Her master had warned her never to create shikigami in human form. They were not people. They were spirits summoned by miko. Tools. No more. No less. Giving them human form only created confusion. Giving them names only created an attachment to them.

But Kikyou could not help herself. She had been desperate and alone when she survived Mount Hakurei. She reached out to a fantasy she had once had.

Once upon a time she had dared to dream having of children with Inuyasha. Children with dark hair. In her mind she had named them Kouchou and Asuka.

She knew in her heart that Kouchou and Asuka were not her children, but she wished they only Naraku had not intervened. If only their wish to live together as husband had been granted.

She had learned sadly that wishes do not come true. Lovingly she put the paper dolls nside her robe next to her heart. That is really where they belonged.


	86. Just to See You One More Time

Title Just to See You One More Time

Author landofthekwt

Rating PG 13

Prompt Escape (fanfic bakeoff)

Crossover Inuyasha/ xxxcholic

Word Count 299

Pairing Inuyasha/Kikyou Inuyasha/Kagome

Warning Character Death

Summary Kikyou finds her way to Yuko's shop

Kikyou was sure that she was in hell. With her last breath she instructed Kaede what to do with the Jewel and her body so that she could carry it into the afterlife, beyond the power of evildoers.

She found herself at the door of a mansion. Opening the door she was whisked away by pink and blue haired children who spoke in singsong. A lanky boy with an apron ushered her into a room where she found a scantily clad woman smoking and drinking sake.

The reclining looked up at Kikyou " You have a wish"

Kikyou was taken aback. She had wished many things. To end the fighting over the Jewel. To live together with Inuyasha as husband and wife. To see Inuyasha again. She had ended the fighting by dying, but she would never be his wife or see Inuyasha again. She shook her head.

" You do. I can feel your lingering affection. Be careful. A wish carries a heavy price"

Kikyou looked at the Jewel in her hand. " I have nothing to give you, but this."

"I will grant your wish. You will see your beloved again. The price will be that you will never be free of the Jewel until you die." Yuko waved her hand and just like that Kikyou was gone.

Watanuki looked at her. " Was her wish granted?"

"Oh, yes. The Jewel will make sure that she sees Inuyasha again."

"And the price?"

In 1982 a girl was born to the Higurashis. Little did they know inside of her body was a Jewel which would use the lingering affection the priestess had for her beloved hanyou to drag her back to the Sengoku Jidai in order to fight the monster who had killed her forever.


	87. Bring Me To Life

Title Bring Me to Life

Author landofthekwt

Rating T

Prompt Unexpected Guest

Word Count 247

Genre Possession is 9/10 of the law

Warning none

Summary Kikyou is brought back

She had awakened inside a body not her own. Yet she clung to it. She could see the simulacrum prepared to receive her spirit and resisted the pull toward it. The decision to die had been hers. The other had no right to bring her back No right to take the Jewel which had been entrusted to her. The other would die before she worked for her. The shield was raised to protect the body in which she had awakened. It also allowed her to stay in that body. So long as she remained in Kagome she would not to face the world that she had left behind when she chose to follow Inuyasha.

What she had not anticipated was Inuyasha. She raised her voice in desperation " Do not speak my name.", but only Kagome could hear her They stood at the precipice. Kikyou looking at Inuyasha through the eyes of the vessel prepared for her. Inuyasha surprised that the woman he loved most in the world was standing before him alive again. He spoke her name.

Kikyou's heart skipped a beat. Her concentration on the barrier wavered for just an instant, but it was enough. Her spirit came pouring out of Kagome's body. and into the other that was not her. She had gone through death to avoid this very moment. The moment she had to face Inuyasha again. All she felt was rage toward Inuyasha Until he was dead, she could not find peace


	88. The Job

Title The Job

Author landofthekwt

Rating T

Prompt Borrow (Issekiwa)

Word Count 249

Warning none

Summary Kikyou a woman on mission

She walked away with an air of exhilaration. Finally, she had a purpose a direction. The path to Nirvana had opened up to her. All she had to do was purify Naraku.

She had allowed herself to be captured so that she could meet Naraku and understand him. Now she understood what Naraku was and what she had to do destroy him Her borrowed body and her new life had given her a freedom she had never had before. A freedom from love and hate.

Her old life had been tangled up in her love and hate of Inuyasha. All that was behind her now. Inuyasha was behind her now. She could not protect him from what was to come. He would have to save himself

Her life was the job. Naraku was the job. She did not hate him, but she did have to purify him before she could find peace. Only when he had entire Jewel in his possession could she do so.

She would whatever was required to complete the job. Whether that meant stealing the Jewel and giving it to Naraku or killing Kagome so that she would stop interfering with the job.

Now that her task was clear nothing could stand in her way. Not Inuyasha or Kagome or any other of their little friends. If they knew what was good for them they would get out of her way and let her do her job. If not, they would have to be eliminated.


	89. The Moment of Truth

Title The Moment of Truth

Author landofthekwt

Rating PG-13

Prompt Truth (ib4y)

Word Count 300

Pairing Inuyasha/ Kikyou

Warning Character death

Summary Kikyou's plan crumbles as she dies.

She had been told that when one dies they achieve a moment of clarity when one's life flashes before their eyes and everything becomes clear. Kikyou saw nothing. No truth. No white light Nothing.

The blindness which she had suffered from all her life would apparently not be lifted even in death. Around her confusion prevailed. Even as she gave her last instruction to Kaede they all wailed about her passing.

She did not have time for grief now anymore than she had in life. There were too many important things to do before she died. She was the guardian of the Sacred Jewel. That duty did not pass with her on death.

She would take it to the underworld to prevent evil doers from possessing it Kaede was instructed to burn her body with the Jewel. Both she and the Jewel must pass from t his world together.

She had already said her goodbyes to Inuyasha. Now that she had spoken to Kaede she could die Not in peace, but still serving the kami in the underworld by performing the task they had given her. Dying was just one more duty.

She heard an alluring voice . Save yourself. Wish to live. Just say the word and you will be saved. Kikyou scoffed. As if she would ever listen to the Jewel. Life was not worth living without Inuyasha.

Those words echoed in her head. As she had struggled back to the village, her plan had come together. She would seal Inuyasha to Goshinboku before she died. That way she would never have to face Inuyasha again.

As she died, she wavered. She pitched forward. For just a moment she caught a glimpse of Inuyasha. Her last thought was that she wished she could see Inuyasha one more time.


	90. Bound For Glory

Title Bound for Glory

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt I-#7 (ib4y)

Word Count 300

Genre Supernatural

Characters Sesshoumaru Kikyou

Warning none

Summary Sesshoumaru meets Kikyou 500 years later

Sesshoumaru barely made the Kyushu Shinkansen at Kagoshima. The doors were already closing when he had arrived with only seconds to spare. Normally he would not have cared but this train ride was too important to miss. He headed for his car when he heard a woman's voice shouting at him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru"

When Sesshoumaru turned he saw Kikyou "I thought that you were Inuyasha's guardian kami"

Kikyou waved her hand " When Inuyasha died he became the guardian kami of the Sunset Shrine in Tokyo to watch over Kagome. When the Tohkaido Shinkansen was established in 1964 . I became its guardian kami"

Sesshoumaru stirred uneasily "So you ride trains "

"Every guardian kami does their part to protect Japan" said Kikyou

Since Nagasaki Sesshoumaru had lost faith in the ability of the kami to protect Japan, but today was too important for an argument The former miko/guardian kami had been a good companion while he watched over Rin in the village,, but he had not seen her since Rin left the village after the miko Kaede diedi

They passed the seven hour trip pleasantly enough When the train stopped in Tokyo Sesshoumaru bowed to Kikyou. She returned his bow and spoke. " It was good to see you again, Lord Sesshoumaru You are always welcome on my train."

As he turned to leave he hesitated wanting to ask her the question that really was on his mind Kikyou smiled and said " The girl you will meet today at the Tokyo Orphanage is Rin's reincarnation."

Sesshoumaru could breathe again. It was good to be alive. He turned to thank Kikyou, but the guardain kami of the Shinkansen had already disappeared. It restored Sesshoumaru's faith in the kami. After all making the shinkansen run on time was a true miracle.


	91. Confessions by Torchlight

Title Confessions by Torchlight

Author landofthekwt

Rating M

Prompt I-9 (ib4y)

Genre hentai

Warning Heavy Petting

Summary Inuyasha and Kikyou share something special

She lit a torch from those that surrounded the Shikon no Tama. No use in taking any chances with the beasts that stalked the night. The sun would not be up for another hour, but she was already late for her tryst.

She blushed when she thought of the rendevous as a tryst, but there was no use denying her feelings any longer. They were already promised to each other, but her duty to the Jewel held her back.

Protection of the Jewel required a level of purity that only a miko of Kikyou's standing could produce. If she slipped just a little the youkai she faced would slaughter her. Until the Jewel was gone they could not consumate their relationship and live together as husband and wife.

To be with him she had to sneak out to Inuyasha Forest in the early hours of the morning. . The villagers would never see what they did there. In the forest she and Inuyasha could be themselves Their tryst had to be completed by sunrise so that no one would be wiser.

They had chosen the waterfall where Kikyou ordinarily went to purify herself. She looked around apparently she had arrived first. Placing the torch where it would illuminate the falls, she laid aiside her bow and proceeded to disrobe.

Ordinarily she wore her underkosode when she stood in the waterfall. Today she decided to be daring, stripping down to her bindings. The water trickled down her body. She imagined that each droplet of cooling water was his touch heating her body to the core.

She closed her eyes and touched herself in the places that she yearned to be touched by him. From their encounters she knew that he was feeling the same desires as she felt. It was only a matter of time before their feelings overwhelmed them and they could not restrain themselves any longer.

In the midst of her reverie. she felt his hot mouth trailing kisses down her neck as his hands cupped her breasts. She allowed him license to touch her in the places that she had been touching herself. Turning she sought his mouth so that she could kiss those wonderful lips which made her feels like a woman.

Her lips said yes, but the words coming from her mouth gasped no. They tumbled into water laughing, the water cooling the heat of their passion. He lifted her out of the water and carried her to the bank. He covoed her with his arms and warmed her with his haori. She fell asleep in his arms.

She woke when the sun shone in her eyes. Hurriedly, she dressed pausing only to kiss him and promise that she would be there tomorrow. He replied that they needed to make tomorrow happen today because he was impatient to her his forever.


	92. Not Like You

Title Not Like You

Author landofthekwt

Rating PG-13

Prompt OCC

Word Count 250

Warning none

Summary Kikyou sorts out her feelings for Inuyasha

Tsubaki having been disposed of she returned to contemplation of the sakura trying to make sense of her feelings. Once she had been confident that she would never fall in love, but Tsubaki was right. She had already lost her heart to Inuyasha.

The feelings which she vowed never to have when she became a miko, the desire for love, a husband and a family were overwhelming her. Her duty to the kami and her protection of the Sacred Jewel had all become secondary to her feelings.

Once she had mocked Tsubacki's curse. She had no fear of a violent death because she would never fall in love. Tsubacki was right. She had been cold. She had been a miko not a woman, but she had already renounced her vows.

There must be a way for the two of them to be together. A way to become the ordinary woman that she yearned to be. If only she had not taken on the guardianship of the Jewel they could be live together as husband and wife.

All that prevented their happiness was the Jewel. If the Jewel were to disappear, she could become an ordinary woman. Inuyasha wanted her as much as she wanted him. Surely, he would help her.

When Inuyasha told her that 'it was not like you' she had dropped her mask revealing her true self In that moment enemies had become lovers with just one look. There was no way either could turn back now.


	93. Signs

Title Signs

Author landofthekwt

Prompt Inuyasha Fan fic

Rating K

Word Count 250

Warning none

Summary Onigumo seems ominous to Kaede

Kaede wondered at Kikyou's words. The man was evil. As guardian of the Jewel she had sworn to purify the Jewel and protect it against all who sought its power. Yet her actions toward Inuyasha and Onigumo clearly spoke volumes about her feelings toward the two of them.

Inuyasha had tried to take the Jewel numerous times yet now Kikyou painted her face for him. Something had changed in their relationship. Kikyou did not go anywhere without Inuyasha. Inuyasha was like a puppy tagging along behind his mistress.

Which is why Kaede was surprised that Kikyou had told her not to tell Inuyasha about only was Kikyou hiding a man who lusted after herself and the Jewel, but she was hiding him from Inuyasha for fear he would be jealous of Onigumo.

She was only eight yet she could see the danger in the man . Kikyou might blithely ignore the evil the man represented, but she would not. Onigumo has already told her that he would take great pleasure in corrupting Kikyou and the Jewel. He struck Kaede as being a man who do anything to get what he wanted. .

Something sinister was coming. She could feel it in the air. Kikyou was headed toward a precipice because she was too besotted by love to read the signs were there for all to see. She had tried to warn her sister, but Kikyou downplayed the threat Onigumo represented. Kaiede could only hope that her sister was right


	94. When a Man Loves A Woman

Title When a Man Loves A Woman

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt The Eye of the Beholder (Inuyasha fanfic)

Word Count 250

Pairing Inuyasha/Kikyou

Warning none

Summary An Inuyasha introspection on his feelings for Kikyou

He never stopped believing in her. From the first moment that her soul entered that the clay vessel made of bones and grave yard soil to the last moment when her soul was free from her earthly prison to reach the heavens.

She could do no wrong. If she wanted to kill him, he would hold her while she did it. He could not bear to see her die again. If she needed part of Kagome's soul to stay alive, she could do so. If she needed to use the souls of young girls to move, he would give her a pass. Kaede might say that she was not Kikyou, but her soul was still the same

He believed in her plan for the Jewel even though she would not tell him what it was. Tried to protect her even though she did not want his protection. Tried to kill Naraku himself to prevent her from using Kohaku.

In the end, his faith in her was justified. She died leaving her light in the Jewel which would eventually save Kohaku and kill Naraku. Her soul was saved and she became the ordinary woman that she always wanted to be.

The others would never understand why he did what he did. When a man loves a woman, she is the light of his world. He saw the good in her soul when no one else could. It was his belief in her that redeemed her and his love that saved her.


	95. Abandon All Hope

Title Abandon All Hope

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt Abandon (issekiwa)

Word Count 250

Pairing Naraku/Kikyou

Warning Dead characters in hell

Summary Kikyou offers Naraku peace

"Abandon hope all who enter here." read the flashing neon sign over the pit of hell. Naraku was not sure how he could read it since it was written in Italian, but he understood the message. Being at bottom of the pile of bodies was not his idea of fun.

A light shone in the darkness. He remembered the light. The light had killed him. Yet he did not fear it now. He remembered a light the Kikyou had borne once. Carrying broth to feed him everyday. He had lived for her visits. Could she truly be here or was he dreaming?

Kikyou stepped out of the light and approached Naraku. " I have come for you, Naraku."

"Have you come to gloat now that I am cast down?"

"Did I gloat when you could not move? No, I kept you alive. Where there is life there is hope."

"I had no hope then, just as I have no hope now."

"All I could offer then was life. Now I come offering peace. You rejected what I offered you then. Do you refuse me now?"

She bent down and kissed him. He began to glow and dissolve as his soul began to trail toward the light above. The others screamed for a similar release, but she was only allowed to release the one who had loved her. The circle was now complete. She had purified Naraku so that he could find peace as she had.


	96. Stronger Than Dirt

Title Stronger Than Dirt

Author landofthekwt

Rating M

Prompt Dirt (Inuyasha fanfic)

Word Count 250

Warning virtual rape

Summary Kikyou turns Onigumo's lust into a weapon against Naraku

She had told Inuyasha that Naraku could not harm her, but that was not entirely true. He had sent the giant soul collector to strip of her borrowed souls. She must make sure that he could never do that again. Her only defense lay here in Onigumo's cave.

The outline of his body was burned into the floor of the cave where he had died. His feelings for Kikyou lived on, soaked into the earth. She could use these disgusting delusions to create a barrier of earth against Naraku and his minions.

Undressing, she laid down where he had lain. Immediately, the lust for her which he felt seized her. Shivering, she proceeded with her task. She must roll in the dirt so that it became absorbed in her counterfeit body. Only then would she receive the full protection of Onigumo.

She was nauseated by his feelings. While she understood the desires of the flesh, his fantasies went far beyond having sex. Kaede had been right. He wanted to dominate her. Humiliate her. Her purity made him want to make her dirty.

She endured the feeling that she had just been raped as well as she could. Both she and Onigumo were dead. He could no longer harm her. She took his fantasies and absorbed them, reshaping them into a weapon against Naraku.

Onigumo's heart was her shield against Naraku. Onigumo's lust would be her sword against Naraku and his minions. Naraku could no longer harm her. She was invincible.


	97. The Price of Death

Title The Price of Death

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt Debt (ib4y)

Word Count 250

Warning Character death

Summary Kikyou is condemned to be reincarnated

"Lord Yama, I ask passage to the underworld "

The court stirred as Emma-O prepared to pass judgment on the soul before him. The crowd murmured at the audacity of the miko before him demanding passage. The kami of the shinto were gods of life. They held no sway here.

It was her fault that the Jewel had created the avatar of hell from Naraka. She had failed in her own of vows by loving the hanyou and allowed the youkai to create Naraku from the dying Onigumo.

She dared to bring the Jewel here. A Jewel made up of the dead souls of the greatest miko and mightiest youkai which ever existed. The Jewel was abomination. There was no place for it in Heaven or Hell. To be destroyed it must be returned to earth.

"Kikyou I condemn you to be reincarnated with the Jewel. You must return to earth to free your lover and destroy the Jewel."

Kikyou started to protest. If she returned to life with the Jewel, her death would have been in vain. A red thread appeared around her left wrist dragging her from the world of the dead

Emma-O smiled. Mortals had no place trying to cheat fate by dying Only he was the judge of death. Kikyou owed a debt to him which had to be repaid. Death was too good for her. She would find no peace in hell. Instead, her reincarnation would have to undo what she had done


	98. Returning Home

Title Returning Home

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt I (ib4y)

Word Count 500

Warning none

Summary Kikyou returns home

t seemed like she had been away forever. Yet nothing had changed. The shops were still the same as she remembered. The families the same. Even the shrine the same save the graves which she had never visited

Kaede had insisted that their parents' graves would the first stop when they returned. Kikyou was not so sure. How would they feel now when she had not been there for them when they died? Had only returned when ordered to do so by the master of the temple

They had sent her away for training as a mko so long ago. She had become the best. Her master's favorite angering Tsubaki. The village had sent Kaede to join her when their parents died, but her master had refused to permit it.

Instead he had sent them out on the road. Kaede obtained her training not from the master, but from her sister. Every morsel of food came from the monies earned from work as a traveling miko. No wonder Tsubaki thought her so foolish. There were times when she had ignored the safety and welfare of her sister whom she treated more as an apprentice than a sister

It was only when the old miko died in her home village that her master had recalled her from the road to serve as village miko. She and Kaede had finally come home, but home was nothing liked Kikyou remembered. The village itself might be the same, but a village is its people and they were not the same.

The headman had been courteous, but they did not know each other. It had been more than ten years since Kikyou left home. The little girls she had played with as a girl were now wives and mothers. The little boys were farmers and craftsmen.

For the moment she was respected as a mko. Eventually, she would have to earn their respect by performing all the functions of a miko. The master had trained her in the dances and the rituals but she had made her living in youkai extermination.

Hardly a useful vocation in this backwater. Here she would be playing with the children as a glorified babysitter. Teaching her sister how to gather herbs. Most importantly she would be the healer for the entire community.

She drew back the curtain of the miko's hut. The former miko had left barely anything. They would have depend on the kindness of the village to survive.

Soon enough the hut would be hers. It would reflect her tastes and her needs. That was why she did not go to see her parents hut when they returned. Another family was living in it.. Nothing of her parents remained.

Her parents were dead and gone. All that remained of them were the graves in the shrine. She would have to be the parent now just as she had been for Kaede since her parents death. Hopefully, her parents would watch over her now and give her guidance she needed.


	99. Only the Lonely

Title Only the Lonely

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt Lone or Loan (issekiwa)

Pairing Inuyasha/Kikyou

Word Count 250

Warning none

Summary Kikyou reaches out to Inuyasha

She laid her bow aside and waited. He was out there in the trees watching her like he always did.

It wasn't as if he could sneak up on her without her noticing. He knew that she knew.

Lately, their fights had become formalities. Neither was actually trying to kill the other. Merely sparring to let her know he was still there. Her fighting back just to show that he would never take the Shikon no Tama from her.

She was tired of the fighting. The daily grind of killing that she did just to stay alive. She didn't need someone to fight with. She needed someone to whom she could drop her mask and be herself. Someone that she could be human with. Not the perfect miko. Not the perfect killing machine with the bloody demon smell. Someone she could be an ordinary woman with.

She had not asked for this life. She did not want this life. Not allowed to be human. She felt a kinship with Inuyasha. He was neither human nor youkai. Not allowed to be human or youkai. Forever, separate, forever alone. Maybe there was hope them. If they were together, they would no longer be alone.

Today she had come to the hillside offering to meet him halfway. She had laid down her bow and turned her back to him. It was up to him to make the next move. All she could hope was that he hated being alone as much as she did.


	100. Waiting At the Temple

Title Waiting At the Temple

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." by Ralph Waldo Emerson (ib4y)

Warning none

Summary Kikyou waits at the temple for the day when she can destroy Naraku and the Jewel

She waited at the temple. Waiting for the day when she could destroy Naraku and the Jewel. She knew where he was, but it would serve no purpose to confront him until he had the entire Jewel.

Only then could purify him together with the Jewel. Until then all she could do was watch and wait,.

He knew where she was. She had told him when she left his castle where he could find her. He came to watch her every day. She knew the moment he appeared and the moment he left. His obsession with her was plain for all to see. If he wished to amuse himself, she would amuse herself watching him watching her.

She did not delude herself about her future. When he was gone, her reason for remaining in the world would vanish. She would return to the world of the dead her soul disappearing forever from the world. That was her fate and she had long ago accepted that there was no future for her in the world of the living.

She could tease him about his constant visits to the village knowing that he could do nothing to harm her. Inside him was the heart of the wild thief Onigumo who loved her. Naraku might pretend to be a youkai and hate her, but she knew what he was and how he felt.

He was a hanyou and loved her despite his own desire to kill her because of Onigumo.

It seemed as if the two of them would never get past their past together. To him she would always be the kind miko who had taken him. To her he would always be that pitiable thief who would never be able to move beyond his love for despite his inability to move and act on his feelings.

They both knew what had happened. Naraku had taken over Onigumo's body and killed her. Hardly the outcome Onigumo had wanted. For his bargain he had ended up with neither the Jewel nor Kikyou. Instead, he had been submerged with Naraku. His only consolation was that Naraku had not ended up with the Jewel.

Now Onigumo had a second chance at love. Naraku could not help but love her with the same obsessive love that Onigumo had once felt for her. So long that heart beat within Naraku he could not harm a head of her head. He could bluster and threaten all he wanted, but he could not bring himself to kill her.

And so she waited in the village. While she waited, she performed the duties that a shrine maiden of the temple would perform. She treated the sick and the wounded. The war brought more and more to her doorstep. When she was alive, she would have taken great satisfaction in the good she was doing, but not now.

Now she had only one purpose in life. Only one goal. It was not treating the sick. It was not helping the wounded. Her only duty was to cast the Jewel and Naraku from this world. When that was done, she would be gone. What happened in the past with Inuyasha and Naraku was irrelevant.

She did not want to kill Naraku for revenge. It was simply her duty. She had been the Guardian of the Shikon Jewel and had died protecting the Jewel. Now her duty was to banish the Jewel and its creation, Naraku from the world. Everything else was secondary to that purpose

If it meant Narakau would become more powerful so be it. She could not even protect Inuyasha from him. All she could do is warn him. Inuyasha and Onigumo were her past. Men who had loved her and died for her. Inuyasha might still an obligation to her, but in the end she was not his and neither of them could save the other. Onigumo might have loved her once, but now his love was merely her shield until she could kill Naraku and banish the Jewel.

Until that day she would fulfill her duties to the temple. Not that she needed them. She just needed a place to be until she killed Naraku and banished the Jewel. The temple was familiar. Being a miko was what she had been. It was not what she was now, but it was as good a place as any to pass the time until she completed her duty and could rest for eternity.


	101. Complications

Title Complications

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Word Count 250

Prompt Complicated (ib4y)

Warning none

Summary Kikyou considers what Inuyasha has done to her life

Inuyasha complicated her life. Before he came into her life, life had been simple. The youkai would come for the Shikon no Tama and she would kill them. Her mask had never slipped in tall the time she was guardian of the Jewel.

His arrival had caused her waver. Made her want things she had never thought about before. A home, a husband and a family. Not with any person, but with him. He had become the most important person in her life.

All her duty to the Jewel had become secondary to him. When she was not with him, she was thinking about him. The things she wanted to do with him. The wife and mother she wanted to be. All impossible so long as she was guardian of the Jewel.

He had not helped. When they were together, he had kissed her and held her. Told her that he loved her and wanted to marry her. He would even become human for her so that they could live together as husband and wife.

All the words that she wanted to hear. All the feelings that she wanted to feel. Everything she always wanted could be hers. The Jewel was the only thing standing in the way of their happiness. If only it would vanish forever, all complications would vanish and she would finally be happy.

She stared at the woman in the mirror. The one with the red lips and blush on the cheeks. She did not recognize herself anymore. Once she had lived without doubts


	102. Happlily Ever After

Title Happily Ever After

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt Good and Ready

Word Count 246

Warning none

Summary Kikyou sweeps her doubts and omens under the rug

Kikyou awoke in a cold sweat. The sun was already up. She was late. Last night she was supposed to stay awake all night keeping the Jewel pure, lest it fall into evil hands. Instead, she had fallen asleep

While she slept dark visions clouded her dreams. Inuyasha killing her and stealing the Jewel. Inuyasha sealed to Goshinboku by her arrow. Choosing to follow Inuyasha in death. The endless swirling down into the flames.

The worst were his words. Denying that he wanted to become human for her. Denying that she could ever become human for him. Denying that he wanted her to be his wife and live together. All his promises, words of love and kisses had been lies.

She refused to believe it. She needed to believe that today was her wedding day. Today was the beginning of her happily ever after. Today was the day when all her dreams of being an ordinary woman came true.

Today was the day that she became free of the Jewel. Free of the guardianship of the Jewel which prevented her from being human Became free to love Inuyasha as a woman. Free to be his wife and bear his children. It was her dream come true

She hurried toward meeting place, brushing aside the omens of the night. They were shadows that daylight would chase away. She was more than ready. It was too late to turn her back on Inuyasha her one chance for happiness.


	103. Things That Go Bump in the Night

Title Things That Go Bump In The Night

Author landofthekwt

Rating K

Prompt User Friendly (Inuyasha FanFic)

Word Count 378

Warning I see dead people

Summary Kikyou finds a use for the shindamachu

The summoning spell had been a simple one. One that she had learned in the temple long ago, but which she never thought she would have a use for.

Summoning shindamachu was something kuromiko did. Only they associated with demons. Only they stole the souls of distressed young women.

Her need had been great. Her hate had been great. All these blackened the heart that had once been pure. Now she was more demon than human.

Perhaps that is why the shindamachu flocked to her. Mighty herds roaming the night sky in search of souls to bring to their mistress.

She felt kin to the women they brought her. They were so much like her. Dying young with regrets. Lost love. Failed love. Betrayed by their men.

They gladly lent her strength to move against the man who had betrayed her. If their souls allowed to obtain her revenge perhaps they too could release their anger and regret.

The empathy she felt for them, did not keep her from using them to allow her to move. Without them she would become a lifeless clay statute unable to get her revenge and allow her to move on.

By day she might pretend to be the kindly miko who cared for the sick and played with the children. By night she was the monster who used demons to gather the souls of young women to allow her to move.

No wonder she felt such a affinity to the shindamachu and the souls of dead women Beneath this veneer of flesh was a hollow women She was the evil she had fought against in her former life

Once she had been pure. In death she had been defiled. A hungry ghost. A revenant living only for the day she took Inuyasha to hell with her. She had been asleep for so long. Inuyasha had woken from that Inuyasha's death would allow her to sleep again. Only through his death could purge the hatred his betrayal had spawned.

Come my friends. Bring me the souls of the dead. I am free you will be free Young women lend me the power of your souls so that I may wreak the revenge for all women who were betrayed by their lovers.


	104. A Reason to Kill

Title A Reason To Kill

Author landofthekwt

Prompt Role Call (Inuyasha fanfic)

Word Count 250

Warning none

Summary Kikyou decides that Kagome must die

Once she might have saved Kagome. and her friends. That is what a miko does. Once she might have saved Inuyasha. That is what a lover does. She was no longer a miko. That avocation had been tossed aside for Inuyasha. She was no longer a lover. Her love died in a blaze of glory.

She was a clay shell powered by dead souls. Not dead. Not alive. Suspended between heaven and hell. She thought by dying that she had rid the world of the Shikon no Tama. Instead, it had raised its ugly head yet again

Naraku had given her a purpose. Once she had been the guardian of the Shiko no Tama She no longer needed to guard and purify the Sacred Jewel. All she had to was wait until Naraku collected the Jewel in order to purify the Jewel and Naraku.

Kagome and the rest of the lot were impediments to her plan. Even Inuyasha was in the way. All she had to do was drop Kagome in the miasma that Naraku had convenientially provided as her final resting place

Once they were out of the way, it would be just her and Naraku. She had already sized hin up Naraku. A third rate charlatan. He was no match for her. In the end there would be only one.

She died once to rid the world of the Shikon no Tama. This time she would succeed. Nothing would stand in her way. No even herself. Kagome must die.


End file.
